Normalization was Left AS/400 and Returned

        As many people have attested to in this link, I'm guessing, quite a few 
people by now are scratching their heads
        with the realization that their particular company's database system is 
not optimally designed.
        
        I suspect many companies converted to the /400 DB2 on the fly from 
earlier versions of Indexed or flat file systems,
        and as a result have 'inherited', a rather unruly elephant.
        Needless to say, management is not likely to approve a data base 
re-design effort, (therein lies the rub)

        I also seem to remember, from my earlier days in University, the fact 
that the normalization of databases was not
        primarily concerned with data redundancy, but with superior design, 
that blends with the business methods/needs
        concerned.
        Some of this earlier lack of design foresight, has in all likelihood 
returned to haunt many of us.

        This topic reminds me of the time when I got a traffic ticket, for 
violating a specific law. In lieu of a fine , or 
        demerit points, I opted for a morning re-training class, that 
over-viewed existing rules of the road.
        I was really surprised, by a whole lot of new rules, that weren't in 
existence when I first obtained my drivers license.
        It often pays to re-visit an area you thought you new thoroughly, or 
took for granted.




Ken Shields
PPG Canada Inc
Ph: 905 725 1144 (326)
Fx: 905 433 8712
kenshields@xxxxxxx