Keys and datatypes

What are the best choices when designing the schema for a relational database? What is the rationale in deciding in favor of one and against some other alternative? Given the amount of vendor-specific recommendations, it is all too easy to overlook basic relational database fundamentals. In this first of two parts, author Philipp K. Janert talks about simple and complex datatypes, and about primary and foreign keys -- the plumbing that holds the entire database together.

In this series, I discuss some general best practices that I have found to be particularly helpful. Nothing in it is specific to any one vendor's product and everything should, therefore, be applicable, regardless of which database implementation is being used. In this frist part of the article, I want to talk about both simple and complex datatypes, and about primary and foreign keys, which are the plumbing that holds the entire database together.