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Posted by Kenneth Downs on 05/14/06 17:22
windandwaves wrote:
> Hi Folk
>
> I have to store up to eight boolean bits of information about an item
> in my database.
>
> e.g.
>
> [ ] with restaurant
> [ ] drive-through facility
> [ ] yellow windows
> [ ] wifi factilities
> etc...
>
> There are three ways of storing this information in my mysql database
> A. add eight fields (tiny integer)
> B. add one tiny integer and create a function in PHP that can translate
> the number stored into a eight boolean values (the bits)
> C. create a table which list
> ItemID
> Associated characteristics
> In C, you will only list the characteristics that are true for the item
> listed.
>
> Option B is the most efficient in MySql, but would you recommend it
> when creating a PHP website. The problem is that the user needs to
> enter them with a nice webform, etc...
>
From experience? Option B obfuscates the data, and so will cost you over and
over, far past your memory of why you thought it was a good idea when you
did it. The data is now trapped in a column that requires annoying
gymnastics to pull out, nobody will remember which column is in what bit,
and so on and so on. Your PHP library now becomes a *requirement*, what
happens if I am at a database console and what to do some simple ad-hoc
queries?
OTOH, Option A has 8 named columns that can be updated and queried with SQL,
why do anything else?
--
Kenneth Downs
Secure Data Software, Inc.
(Ken)nneth@(Sec)ure(Dat)a(.com)
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