RE: FN-FORUM: Database structure question

date posted 30th April 2007 15:56

IanR wrote:
> Not sure which rdbms you are using, mysql supports the 'set'=20
> datatype see http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/set.html


Interesting point Ian - the ability to have an array of foreign keys =
instead
of a separate link table does significantly simplify many-to-many
implementation. I'm guessing most of the major DBMSs now support this
mechanism (SQL Server et al)?

Does anyone know how performance compares using an array of foreign keys
(the "set" datatype Ian mentions) vs using a traditional link table for
representing many-to-many relationships?

Thanks, Ben

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