Beginning Database Design: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition

CHAPTER 1

What Can Go Wrong

The problem with a number of small databases (and quite probably with many large ones) is that the initial idea of how to record and store the data is not necessarily the most useful one. Often a table or spreadsheet is designed to mimic a possible data entry screen or a hoped–for report. This practice may be adequate for solving the immediate problem (e.g., storing the data somewhere); however, mimicking a data entry screen or report in your design inevitably leads to problems as the requirements evolve. It can make it difficult, if not impossible, to get information for different reports or summaries that were not ...