When to normalize data

[David Fox <da...@davidjfox.com>]

Hey guys,

I have a database containing thousands of documents fairly large in 
size. These documents contain something similar to an access key inside 
them, so users can control who can view their "documents", how many 
times, etc...

Besides these access keys, which get updated very often, the rest of the 
document is relatively static.

Would this be a case where it would make sense to normalize my document 
and store these access keys separately? Are there any general guidelines 
determining when it makes sense to normalize?

-David

Re: When to normalize data

[Mark Hahn <ma...@boutiquing.com>]

> Are there any general guidelines determining when it makes sense to
normalize?

Not really.  It depends on how big the docs are and how often your keys are
updated.  My personal approach is to code it whichever way is easiest and
then hope it works well.  It is rare that I have to go back and change it.

If you abstract your code properly, and with some luck, it could be easy to
change the schema even after it has been running a while.

Re: When to normalize data

[David Fox <da...@davidjfox.com>]

Looks like they a have a lengthy preview of the book online too. I'll 
check it out, thanks!

On 10/15/2011 5:48 PM, Luciano Ramalho wrote:
> On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 12:49 AM, David Fox<da...@davidjfox.com>  wrote:
>> Would this be a case where it would make sense to normalize my document and
>> store these access keys separately? Are there any general guidelines
>> determining when it makes sense to normalize?
> Besides the MongoDB article suggested by Roger, I also recommend this book:
>
> Semistructured Database Design
>
> http://www.springer.com/computer/security+and+cryptology/book/978-0-387-23567-7
>
> Yes, it is expensive, but it is the only book I that I know about
> which discusses in depth data modeling, including normalization, in
> semistructured databases (a.k.a. document databases, but
> semistructured or semi-structured are the terms used in research since
> the 1990s).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Luciano
>
>

Re: When to normalize data

[Luciano Ramalho <lu...@ramalho.org>]

On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 12:49 AM, David Fox <da...@davidjfox.com> wrote:
> Would this be a case where it would make sense to normalize my document and
> store these access keys separately? Are there any general guidelines
> determining when it makes sense to normalize?

Besides the MongoDB article suggested by Roger, I also recommend this book:

Semistructured Database Design

http://www.springer.com/computer/security+and+cryptology/book/978-0-387-23567-7

Yes, it is expensive, but it is the only book I that I know about
which discusses in depth data modeling, including normalization, in
semistructured databases (a.k.a. document databases, but
semistructured or semi-structured are the terms used in research since
the 1990s).

Cheers,

Luciano


-- 
Luciano Ramalho
Twitter: @luciano
Autor e instrutor da Academia Python na Globalcode
http://python.globalcode.com.br
programador repentista || stand-up programmer

Re: When to normalize data

[David Fox <da...@davidjfox.com>]

Thanks for the link. Had some good advice along with some very helpful 
links to their conferences too.

On 10/15/2011 8:15 AM, Roger Rohrbach wrote:
> Without answering your question directly, I'd encourage you to read the article (w/suggested best practices) in schema design over at mongodb.org: http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Schema+Design
>
>
> On Oct 15, 2011, at 5:49 AM, David Fox wrote:
>
>> Are there any general guidelines determining when it makes sense to normalize?

Re: When to normalize data

[Roger Rohrbach <ro...@ecstatic.com>]

Without answering your question directly, I'd encourage you to read the article (w/suggested best practices) in schema design over at mongodb.org: http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Schema+Design


On Oct 15, 2011, at 5:49 AM, David Fox wrote:

> Are there any general guidelines determining when it makes sense to normalize?