Database Design Archives - Duhallow Grey Geek

Indexes, Analysts and SQL Smells

SQL Indexes - A Goldilocks problem for analysts or an SQL Smell — SQL Indexes – A Goldilocks problem for analysts or an SQL Smell

Database Indexes are something which a lot of analysts ignore as being “too technical”. This is a pity.

Several SQL Smells in Phil Factor’s article point at possible bad decisions. Thinking in the Logical Model can improve these decisions.

Choosing the correct indexes is a typical “Goldilocks Problem”: not too few, not too many, just the right number! Bad or inadequate requirements will contribute to designers making bad decisions. Phil Factor describes having the wrong indexes as an SQL Smell!

What is an Index and what does it do for us?

If you are an analyst, you may not know exactly what an index is. In non-technical terms, an index provides a quick way for the database manager to find the rows it needs in a table. There are several sorts of index.

An index is a “thing” in its own right. An index takes up space in the database. Updating an index costs effort. The main benefit of an index is that it makes select or read operations faster.

Types: Unique, Non-Unique, Clustered

There are three main kinds of index: Unique, Non-Unique and Clustered.

Imagine that we have a very simply database consisting of 3 tables:

Customer (not shown in the diagram)
Order
OrderLine

Two tables: Order and OrderLine - Where to put the indexes? — Two tables: Order and OrderLine – Where to put the indexes?

Unique Indexes:

In the Order table we can see three columns which might be used to identify the order

If you are not familiar with GUIDs, they are a way of assigning identifiers or “keys”. They are worth finding out about. It would be unusual to expect a human being to type in a GUID. An “OrderNum” (which paradoxically might contain letters!) would be more convenient for the users.

We expect all three: OrderId, GUID and OrderNum, to be unique. Therefore, all three are candidates for Unique Indexes. If an application attempts to create a duplicate value in a column which has a unique index, then the database manager will raise an error and reject the transaction.

Non-Unique Indexes for Foreign Keys

Candidate Indexes on an "OrderLine" SQL table — Candidate Indexes on an “OrderLine” SQL table

In the OrderLine table you can see two columns which identify things in other tables: OrderId and ProductId. These are Foreign Keys. In this case we cannot say they are unique, but they are candidates for non-unique indexes.

We could also have used OrderNum or OrderGUID as Foreign Keys into Order.

It is good practice for the rows in the OrderLine table to have a unique identifier. There are two common ways of doing this.

We can assign an OrderLineId (which is unique across the whole table) or
we can use the combination of OrderId and OrderLineNum which together would identify a row.

In this example, both OrderLineId and the OrderId and OrderLineNum combination are (seperate) candidate unique indexes.

Clustered Indexes

The order of the rows in an SQL table is specified by the Clustered Index. Each table can have only one clustered index. The clustered index must be unique.

People often make the “primary key” the clustered index, but it is worth considering other options. In the example, OrderLines can be added to an order after it has been created.

Using the OrderId, OrderLineNum index as the clustered index would make the database store all the “lines” for one order together (whenever they were added to the order). That may be more efficient for retrieval. Phil Factor identifies two smells with the choice of clustered indexes.

Non-Unique Indexes for Searching

Candidate Indexes on a "Customer" SQL table - A Non-Unique index on Name would help searches — Candidate Indexes on a “Customer” SQL table – A Non-Unique index on Name would help searches

Columns which will be used for searching should be considered candidates for a non-unique index.

The role of Analysts in choosing Indexes and Index types

Indexes are usually specified in the “Physical Model”. The analyst can help the database designer make the right decisions, by applying a little thought. The analyst should not try to pre-empt the designers decisions. They should aim to assist by identifying relevant “candidates”.

"<yoastmark

Summary

Indexes enforce business rules like uniqueness in an SQL database. They influence database performance. Considering candidate indexes in the Logical Model and even the Conceptual Model will help database designers make better decisions.

Where next?

The next article is about the smell of nothing, or “Nulls”. Nulls present problems for developers and database designers.

Check Constraint to limit values – SQL Smell?

Do Check Constraints Cause an SQL Smell?

In his article on SQL Smells, Phil Factor is not in favour of using Check Constraint to limit the values in columns.

In my previous post I explained why Phil Factor recommends referential integrity. I am going to explain this apparent contradiction.

What are CHECK CONSTRAINTs and what do they do for us?

Using CHECK CONSTRAINT to Restrict Allowed Values

Like REFERENCES, the CHECK CONSTRAINT also says what are values can be stored in a column. The logical expression must be true for the value to be allowed.

The logical expression can be limits or even a list of permitted values (as in the illustration).

What is the problem with Check Constraints?

This sounds like a marvellous idea! The benefit is clear. Constraints will exclude invalid data from the database, even when it is loaded using a utility (eg BULK INSERT). We can define constraints which will protect the database from bad data. So what is the problem?

Why does Phil Factor regard this as an SQL Smell? The answer is that using Check Constraints in this way embeds constant values in the structure of the SQL database!

The database structure is “locked down” in commercial systems. Only authorised people are allowed to make changes to the structure. Phil Factor wants to avoid these changes.

When should we use Check Constraints?

This criticism does not mean that we should never use Check Constraints. The ideal constraint will not change in the lifetime of the database.

Possible candidates for using CHECK CONSTRAINTs to Restrict Values

For attributes which represent “classifications” and “types” we should note how many different values we are expecting, and how frequently the allowed values change. Short lists which change very rarely may be acceptable.
On the other hand, consider re-designing a CHECK CONSTRAINT as a FOREIGN KEY by adding an additional table to contain the valid values. This has the benefit of making adding a new value a simple data change!
Do not use Check Constraints to enforce arbitrary limits.

Check Constraint and Requirements

We can identify candidates for Check Constraint when we construct the Conceptual Model. We should note:

The number of options
The expected frequency of change.
That information will enable us to make an informed decision about how to validate the values of that column.

Unfortunately, some of the examples using Check Constraints perform the checks against arbitrary values. These examples will work technically but copying them may cause the problems Phil Factor wants us to avoid.

Summary

Check Constraints provide a way of validating data values. They are appropriate for checking against values which do not change.

For lists, lookup-tables with Foreign Key Constraints may be better.

Do not use Check Constraints against arbitrary values or values which change frequently.

Where next?

The next article covers “Indexes”. I will explain how an Analyst can influence some design decisions.

SQL Hierarchies – SQL Smells

SQL Hierarchy - Hierarchies are a problem in SQL - An SQL smell — SQL Hierarchy – Hierarchies are a problem in SQL – An SQL smell

Phil Factor describes “Storing the hierarchy structure in the same table as the entities that make up the hierarchy”, and hierarchies as an SQL Smell. It is one of the longer titles in his article!

If you are not familiar with this construction, it is when a table refers back to itself using a “one-to-many” relationship.

Hierarchies are everywhere in the real world: product categories, nested geographic areas and organisation structures are all reasons we use hierarchies. Hierarchies are essential in order to model real business requirements, but they are difficult to get right. They are difficult to explain to business people and they can be difficult to specify properly to developers. When you decide you need them, then you should look at them closely.

I go a stage further than Phil Factor and say that all requirements for hierarchies should be reviewed, because they can be tricky.

How does a single table represent a hierarchy?

The figure shows a single table (called “Product_Category”). Each row can “point at” its parent using a Foreign Key in the “ParentCategoryId” column. In the example: Bikes, Components, Clothing and Accessories are all top-level categories. Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes and Touring Bikes are all sub-categories of Bikes. You can see how the row for Mountain Bikes “points at” Bikes.

This is the construction Phil Factor regards as an “SQL Smell” in his article. He says:

This approach “mixes relationships and values” (a philosophical objection), and
He states that the “closure table” pattern is more suitable for modelling real-life hierarchies.

I agree with Phil Factor on both counts. I’m not entirely against using the single table hierarchy, because it can be very simple and effective, but we need to recognise its limitations. People use the single table hierarchy because they are seduced by its apparent elegance and because they are not aware of any alternatives.

How the “closure table” represents a hierarchy in two tables

Two ways of modelling a hierarchy in SQL tables - single self-referencing table and closure table — Two ways of modelling a hierarchy in SQL tables

A two table “closure table” design is my (and Phil Factor’s) preferred way of storing hierarchies. In this pattern the information about the categories is held in the Category table and the information about the relationships between categories is held as foreign keys in the Product_Category_Closure table.

I like the “closure table” pattern because it is extremely flexible. There is an excellent technical description of how to use it here.

I am still cautious about the “closure table”, because we need to make sure we understand the requirements for the hierarchy we are designing.

Hierarchies as a Requirements Smell for Analysts

Phil Factor identifies the “Single Table Hierarchy” as an SQL Smell. I would go further and identify Hierarchies in general as a Requirements Smell. We can spot hierarchies at the earliest stages of creating the Conceptual Model of the database.

The issue is not “having Hierarchies” in your model. The issue is that both the “Single Table” and “Closure Table” patterns may seduce us into thinking that we have understood what the Business wants, or what the System needs to do, because we have added a table or two into our model.

Hierarchies are an area where the model of the data structure we use in the system can have a real impact (for good and bad) on what the system is capable of.

It is not really reasonable to expect business people to understand the nuances of choosing one Conceptual Model over another.
Neither is it right to expect Developers or Database designers to decide the importance of things like sequencing of categories, or rules about “depth”.
This is especially a problem if the Analyst has created a Model which contains a single table linked to itself and used that as a short-hand for “we need some sort of hierarchy here”, but has not investigated it or specified what it is.

Consequently, there is a danger here that we can either get into “analysis paralysis”, investigating hierarchies, on the one hand, or creating a database with an over-simplified or over complex solution for the hierarchy on the other.

How an analyst should approach hierarchies

In order to manage the risks of “analysis paralysis” or an inappropriate design, I suggest the following approach:

Recognise that the Business People may not fully understand the consequences of what they are agreeing to.
Make sure you illustrate the definition of the hierarchy with realistic examples. It won’t be wasted effort. The examples will be good for reflecting back the Requirements to the Business and will be useful for explaining the Requirements to whoever is designing the database. The examples will also be useful as the basis for test data.
The Business may review their requirements after they have seen the hierarchy implementation. That makes hierarchies a likely candidate for iterative development whether we want it or not!

Summary

Hierarchies are normal and essential Business Requirements. The “single table hierarchy” pattern may over-simplify Requirements, and even the “Closure Table” pattern may seduce us into specifying a design which we do not fully understand.

Hierarchies are a Requirements Smell. If the business needs hierarchies we should not try to eliminate them. Hierarchies deserve particular attention. They should be recognised as a potential risk in the project plan.

Where next?

“Hierarchies” are a problem with understanding real requirements and then converting a Conceptual Model into a Logical Model. They are an unavoidable Requirements Smell.

In the next article I’m going to look deeper than usual into table definitions. I’m going to consider the SQL Smells and Requirements Smells around – “SQL Constraints – for Referential Integrity and for Column Values”.

Inappropriate data-types – SQL Smells

Inappropriate Data-types cause SQL Smells! — Inappropriate SQL Data-types cause SQL Smells!

People choose inappropriate data-types. This isn’t surprising. There are lots of SQL data-types, so people make inappropriate choices. Phil Factor names “Using inappropriate data-types” as a smell in his article on SQL Smells.

I’m going to concentrate on dates and numbers in this post. I will explain why people choose inappropriate data-types. I will also describe an approach which will encourage you to choose the right ones.

This will be a superficial treatment. I’m going to look at the problem from a high level. Dates and numbers can suffer from detailed technical problems as well.

Why do people choose inappropriate data-types?

Confusion of Storage, Interchange and Presentation forms of data causes selection of inappropriate data-types — SQL: Storage, Interchange and Presentation forms of data

Phil Factor identifies the main reason for this problem as:

“Confusing how data will be presented with how it will be stored”.

I agree. Here are some reasons Analysts choose inappropriate data-types:

We approach problems from the outside and take the users’ point of view. We should consider presentation. Inside the database, data should be stored in an appropriate form.
The same argument applies for interfaces and interchange formats. Interface requirements should not determine the way data is stored internally. Interfaces are still important. Where possible, standard interchange formats should be used.
Spreadsheets have made us lazy. You don’t have to think about the “data-type” when you key something into a cell. Format and validation are often added afterwards.
There are “folk memories” about problems with data in old file-based systems. These systems did not have the rich range of data-types of modern databases and languages.

Consequences of using inappropriate data-types

Inappropriate data types can have serious consequences for a system we are building. Some of these problems are not obvious. Many of these problems apply to all systems. Some of these problems become more important with larger databases.

Having the wrong format makes validation harder. It prevents the database engine from checking the content and increases the risk of “garbage data” getting into the system.
The possible presence of garbage data makes error handling throughout the system harder.
Storing data in “display format” imbeds that format deep inside the system.
“Dates” are associated with useful functions which simplify program design.
Inappropriate data-types can change how data is sorted. This influences how indexes work and cause performance issues.
The “correct” data-types are usually very space efficient. Using alternatives can waste space in the database for no benefit.

Let’s look at some specific examples:

Inappropriate data-types for Numbers, especially currency

SQL: Storing numbers as character strings - inappropriate data-types — SQL: Storing numbers as character strings

It is possible to present numbers as strings, even including the decimal and thousands separators and any related currency symbols.

Interchange files can contain numbers as text, because it is convenient.

Numbers stored as strings are harder to validate.

Numbers stored as strings are sorted differently to numbers stored as numbers. If you doubt me, then try the experiment of illustrated in the Figure: “Number versus Character sorting” in your favourite spreadsheet.

SQL: Number versus Character sorting. Consequences of inappropriate data-types — SQL: Number versus Character sorting

Inappropriate data-types for Dates

"<yoastmark

Some early databases did not handle dates very well. This encouraged designers to do-it-themselves with varying degrees of success.

It is possible to represent a date as an integer. Such a “date” will sort as you expect, but needs its own validation and will not help you with date arithmetic.

It is also possible (and unfortunately common) to store dates in character fields. In most cases this is simply “an accident waiting to happen”!

All these do-it-yourself options are vulnerable to the problem that Americans tend to specify dates “mm-dd-yy” and Europeans (including the British) tend to specify dates “dd-mm-yy”. There is nothing we as analysts can do about this except to make sure that the test data for any system always includes a date with “13th of the Month”!

Benefits of using the appropriate data-types

The benefits of using the appropriate data-types far outweigh any perceived costs. Most of the “cost” is simply being aware that there are options and then not choosing the inappropriate data-types!

Using the appropriate data-types will:

Help protect you from “garbage data” (The database will reject an incorrect leap year 29th of February!)
Sort as you (and the business) expect without the need to work out the details.
Allow you to specify the presentation separately from the storage. Many languages and presentation frameworks have these facilities built in.
Take up less storage space.
Make your system perform better!

How to prevent appropriate data-types

Choosing the Appropriate Data-type - Problem Prevention. Preventing inappropriate data-types — Choosing the Appropriate Data-type – Problem Prevention

People choose inappropriate data-types in the transition from the “Conceptual Model” to the “Logical Model” (or possibly the “Physical Model”). We have selected the entities and attributes the system needs, but we have chosen inappropriate data-types.

The solution is to separate different aspects of the data and the decisions we need to make in our minds.

Here is the approach I recommend:

In the Conceptual Model:

Decide what data you need (the “attribute”) and decide what kind of data it is. Do this from a “non-computer” point of view.
If it is a number, say what it counts or measures and what the units are.
Treat “money” as a unit.
For dates and times, label them loosely as “date”, “time” or “date-time”.
Record any “limits”. The database designer may use them in detailed design.
Say how the users of the system will expect to see it presented. You will use this information in the user-interface design.

In the Logical Model:

Decide what kind of “bucket” the database should put it into. A database professional may help you with this.
If it is a number, and a precise value, say it is an Integer (of some kind). For decimals, say how many decimal places you need.
Look hard at dates and times. Do you mean “date” or “time of day”? Do you need an “elapsed time” or a “point in time”?

In the Physical Model:

Decide exactly what SQL Data-type you are going to use. Many of the basic data-types have alternatives. There are several types of “Integer” and quite a lot of “Date and Time” types.
This is a good time to talk to a database professional.

Summary

There are two main reasons for choosing inappropriate data-types in SQL:

Concentrating too much on how data will be presented, rather than how it will be stored
Making decisions about the Physical Model prematurely

Using inappropriate data-types can have wide-ranging harmful effects on your database and system.

Avoid the problems by following a simple process:

Concentrate on what data the system needs in the Conceptual Model.
Outline how that data should be stored in the Logical Model.
Confirm the exact SQL data-type in the Physical Model.

This does not have to be difficult or time consuming. It fits perfectly well with “Agile” development.

Where next?

“Inappropriate data-types” was a problem with converting a Conceptual Model into a Logical Model. In the next article I’m going to look at the SQL Smells and Requirements Smells around – “Using Hierarchies”.

Packing lists into SQL columns – SQL Smells

Packing Lists into SQL Columns creates an SQL Smell

Some SQL data types are amazingly flexible. As a consequence people are tempted to put all kinds of data into character columns. In his article on SQL Smells Phil Factor identifies packing lists or complex data into a column as one of the “smells”. To be frank, it stinks! One row should contain one value for each column. That value should mean a single thing. Doing anything else is inviting problems.

Let’s look at how to recognise this particular “smell”, where it comes from, the consequences of allowing designs containing it and how to remove it. I’ll also touch on the limited circumstances when it is acceptable.

Recognising “packing lists into a column”

Examples of lists packed into SQL Columns

If you are an analyst or designer, working with the Conceptual Design or Requirements for the database then you will know when you are tempted to do this. My advice is – Don’t do it! The explanation will come later.
On the other hand, this smell can be hard to recognise if it actually gets into the database design. There will be evidence in three places:

There may be signs of “lists” in the database design. The names of affected columns may be plural, or something like “List_of_…”. The column is likely to be defined as a character type.
There will be evidence in the data. This is the easiest place to find the evidence. There will usually be a separator character between the different elements of the list, like “1,2,3,4”. Beware! Fixed length character columns, divided into fields, mimicking an ancient punched card are not entirely unknown.
The code will provide evidence. You will know it when you see it. The code will parse the offending column into separate values based on either a separator value or column positions.

Limitations of the packing approach

This approach is not using a relational database as intended. This will impose limitations on your system.

You will not be able to search on the individual fields without unpacking them.
You won’t be able to update the fields without unpacking them and then re-packing them.
Changes to the implied record structure will mean fundamental changes to the database and the associated code.
All the packing and unpacking will cause poor performance.

Excuses for packing a list into a column

There are two reasons you may be tempted to pack a list in this way:

You think it will somehow be “more efficient”. Take Phil Factor’s word for it. It won’t!
Another system expects something in this form. In this case you would be better to “do things properly” and do the conversion close to the interface with the other system. That way you limit the effect the other system is having on you.

The only acceptable excuse is that the data in the column is going to be treated as a black box. All your system is doing is storing it.

How to avoid packing a list into a column

There is one main strategy for avoiding packing a list (or other complex data) in a column. You should aim to understand the list or data you are packing into the column. Consider breaking the complex data out into a new entity. Apply the techniques of data modelling or normalization.

Summary

A column containing complex data indicates problem with the Conceptual Model of the database. You should review the data model and apply the rules of normalization.

Where next?

Having dealt with a problem poor data modelling, in the next article I’m going to look at a general problem of data design and an associated SQL Smell – “Using inappropriate data types”.