Database Design for Mere Mortals™: A Hands-On Guide to Relational Database Design, Second Edition

Objectives of Good Design

There are distinct objectives you must achieve in order to design a good, sound database structure. You can avoid many of the problems mentioned in the previous section if you keep these objectives in mind and constantly focus on them while you're designing your database.

• The database supports both required and ad hoc information retrieval. The database must store the data necessary to support information requirements defined during the design process and any possible ad hoc queries that may be posed by a user.

• The tables are constructed properly and efficiently. Each table in the database represents a single subject, is composed of relatively distinct fields, keeps redundant data to an absolute minimum, and ...