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How would referential integrity work in this situation?

EXPERT RESPONSE FROM: Brian Peasland

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QUESTION POSED ON: 15 April 2008
Quick question about referential integrity:
Let's say I have 4 tables:
A table has NAME
B table has NAME, CODE
C table has CODE
D table has NAME, CODE, ELSE
A (NAME) is referenced by B (NAME) and C (CODE) is referenced by B (CODE)

If I reference B (NAME, CODE) from D, do I need to reference A (NAME) and C (CODE) as well (from D)?

EXPERT RESPONSE
You do not need to make the additional references. When designing your schema, so long as you can walk from one table to another, you are fine. However, I would make a minor change. The D table has NAME and CODE. I would have the A table reference the D table. I would have the B table reference the D table, and finally, I would have the C table reference the D table. I hope this makes sense. In some situations, it may make more sense to do it this way. The only situations I can think of are where the NAME values in A are a strict subset of what is in B and B contains a strict subset of what is in D. If you must enforce this type of relationship, then your referential integrity example is fine.

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