Best Practices Question

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Is there a SQL Server best practices document/site out there? I went to MS's
Sql Server area and couldn't find one. I found good tech articles, etc. but
not best practices and I know one exists.

I.e. I am working on a project where the current DB developer created a
structure where the tables are approx. 90% NULL allowed for the fields. This
presents a problem on the handling of the presentation layer but everything
I've read is NULL is not good, but can be used if absolutey neccesary.

Those kinds of questions, thanx.
 
Hi Chris,

Unfortunately I do not believe that you will find a one site "catch-all"
that will sum up all of the best practices for designing a database. But
fortunately there is a ton of information out there on this subject. You
will need to read through it and decide what is best for your particular
purpose. I have included some links below that may aid you in your search.

I hope this helps.
-------------------------

//several white papers and articles on database design best practices
http://database.ittoolbox.com/nav/t.asp?t=349&p=349&h1=349
//if you already have a database in place MS has a great tool that you can
run against i
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...1f-d3ca-44ee-893e-9e07339c1f22&displaylang=en
//great site for general questions on everything sql including design
http://www.sql-server-performance.com/database_design.asp
 
Handling nulls don't have to be a problem. And, they do
save space (you could argue that for most databases, they
aren't large enough for this to be truly useful).

I wrote an ADO.NET code generator specifically
for SQL Server. The source is also provided. I
believe you'll find the code layers it outputs to be
quite useful in giving you a flexible, object oriented
database layer. All with the click of a single button.

The generator deals with all the problems nulls can cause
and also prepopulates your classes with the returned values
from stored procedures using reflection.

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/articles/adonet_source_code_generator.asp
 
Is there a SQL Server best practices document/site out there? I went to MS's
Sql Server area and couldn't find one. I found good tech articles, etc. but
not best practices and I know one exists.

I.e. I am working on a project where the current DB developer created a
structure where the tables are approx. 90% NULL allowed for the fields. This
presents a problem on the handling of the presentation layer but everything
I've read is NULL is not good, but can be used if absolutey neccesary.

Those kinds of questions, thanx.
Click to expand...

Chris,

In my opinion, nulls should not exist in a database table unless one needs to
know if a value has never been set. For example, a null in a nvarchar column
would mean that a value was never assigned to that column on that row. An empty
string on the column could mean that the column contained data but was erased,
etc.

My belief is that a table with 90% nullable columns is one with a poor design.


Otis Mukinfus
http://www.otismukinfus.com
 
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