NYCPHP Meetup

[Phil Duffy]

Allen,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org [mailto:talk-bounces at lists.nyphp.org]
> On Behalf Of Allen Shaw
> Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 10:39 PM
> To: NYPHP Talk
> Subject: Re: [nycphp-talk] data modelling vs. db design (was: ER Diagram

<snip>

> Can anyone suggest reasons why it's better to have fewer tables, or to
> try and combine different types of objects into the same table?  Surely
> it's something to do with better performance (fewer joins, simpler
> queries), right?  Is this a common principle of design that I haven't
> learned yet?

The rule I used in the development of a framework was (1) model the real
world first, and (2) de-normalize only when it is obviously necessary for
performance reasons.  I can't say that I ever read that anywhere, but I am
sure it is not original.

The framework was the foundation for large, complex applications with high
transaction volumes.  Performance was appropriate and de-normalization was
rare.

Phil