Chapter 8. Planning Databases

If you’re building a database from scratch, congratulations. You’re free to do it right. Of course, you still have to start from scratch. It’s a bit like building a new house versus restoring an old one. The new house gets a new foundation using the latest materials but it also starts as a clean—and very blank—sheet on the drafting table. With renovation, if the foundation’s crumbling, you have a big old house to somehow hold in place while you do the repairs.

No matter where you start, however, you won’t be entirely free of constraints. If you’re building a database for your department, at some point, you’ll probably need to share some data with another department. Even the home office worker will want, from time ...

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