Re: Database design question

How does one fix this? For example, I use a surrogate key for customer
number. Now for the original population for the business value let's say
I use the surrogate key.
Customer gets the dreaded 666 and wants it changed. How do I pick what
number to give him for the business value? Let's say I just pick 1234.
Now I have to ensure that when the surrogate key gets to 1234 that I don't
assign that as the business key.
Before someone says something like "the boolean least squares concept
forbids you using the surrogate as the default" or some such drivel you
would have the same fit if you defaulted the business key to a value
returned from a sequence object vs the surrogate key. Once you have to
override the value from the sequence you have to ensure that you no longer
use the sequence again. I do suppose the sequence allows you to increment
it independently of the surrogate and may cutdown on an initial failure on
all writes until the next renumbering. That, and initialling the sequence
different than the surrogate stops people from assuming they are the same
and using one when they should be using the other.


Rob Berendt