Woody

> through deleting child records when a master record is deleted. I only use
> PKs and not FKs and have had no speed problems to date nor any other for

Me (and I suspect many others) too...

> that matter. Lucky? Could be, but I find it far easier to change data
> structures, procedures, etc. without having to continually remove and
> replace constraints while developing. This process works best for me so this

That's my primary reason for not using declarative referential integrity (DRI).
It's a pain while developing...

There is a point that data is not sealed when the database with no DRI
is accessed using an external tool. That's true but it doesn't relate to RI only.
Let's say I have a complex OID policy or whatever. Inserting/altering data
by using an external tool brakes my OID rules for sure. How do I solve the
problem? (rhetorical question)

The use of external tools should be restricted. Just for selecting; never
altering/inserting. I mean the end-users...

In any case this debate is very usefull to me and I believe to many others.
So please, you experienced RDBMS users share your points,
arguments, thoughts with us and let this discussion go in depth

It might be useful also to set up a poll, say "Do you use declarative referential integrity?"

Best regards
Theo

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Theo Bebekis
Thessaloniki, Greece
bebekis@...
teo@...
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