database design

[DJE]

Does it make sense to create an enterprise database design where there
is 1 table for people, another for addresses, another for
phones...etc. The idea is each dept would contribute to these tables
and then have their own database for specific applications. I'm not a
database expert but this design seems nice in theory but difficult to
use. Anyone else use such a design? Do you like it?

[Sybaseguru]

Re: database design

Whats the application you have in mind?

DJE wrote:

Does it make sense to create an enterprise database design where there
is 1 table for people, another for addresses, another for
phones...etc. The idea is each dept would contribute to these tables
and then have their own database for specific applications. I'm not a
database expert but this design seems nice in theory but difficult to
use. Anyone else use such a design? Do you like it?

[Erland Sommarskog]

Re: database design

DJE (debi@copper.ne t) writes:

Does it make sense to create an enterprise database design where there
is 1 table for people, another for addresses, another for
phones...etc. The idea is each dept would contribute to these tables
and then have their own database for specific applications. I'm not a
database expert but this design seems nice in theory but difficult to
use. Anyone else use such a design? Do you like it?

The design sounds reasonable, but it's impossible to tell for sure without
more information on the business requirements.


--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, esquel@sommarsk og.se

Books Online for SQL Server 2005 at

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/downloads/books.mspx

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[Cralis]

Re: database design

The benefit I see in this is, you could then allow for more than one
type of address per user... you could cater for deleting an address
and then have the option 'View History' or something like that? But I
guess that would only be useful if it's a business requirement.

[Arved Sandstrom]

Re: database design

"Cralis" <info@listerhom e.comwrote in message
news:4c85cc6e-3a9d-4230-a9a8-17c5baaa7696@g1 6g2000pri.googl egroups.com...

The benefit I see in this is, you could then allow for more than one
type of address per user... you could cater for deleting an address
and then have the option 'View History' or something like that? But I
guess that would only be useful if it's a business requirement.

That's exactly right - it depends on the business requirements. At one end
the requirement may simply be for a single contact address; this is common.
In the middle you may wish to have two addresses, say - a taxation authority
would need to store the address of a taxed property, but also have the
address of the owner, not necessarily one and the same. At the other -
something more like a full-fledged contact manager - you probably would want
to store all addresses for a person (residence, other home, cottage etc).

Having a history feature for previous addresses is yet another thing
entirely. Business record-keeping requirements could certainly demand this.

It is more likely in general that multiple phone numbers would have to be
recorded for contact reasons - home, mobile, work.

AHS