However, if your biggest complaint about using sequential numbers for your primary key is that it's a pain to update the next serial value, then using a different primary key only solves that problem if you don't need another number (invoice number, etc.) to be sequential.

It's really not that hard to create a routine that updates your next serial value for all tables in the database.

Paul



--
Paul Spafford
Spafford Data Solutions
Tel: 613 838 9956
www.paulspafford.com
www.fmlayoutmode.com






On Jun 23, 2010, at 1:39 PM, Cornelius Walker wrote:

> On Jun 23, 2010, at 9:54 AM, Judith Foldi wrote:
> 
>> Careful with this. Some companies which have Govt. contracts must have sequential numbers. One company which I dealt with did a lot of business with the VA and they required this.
> 
> Nothing says those sequential numbers need to be the primary key. This is something developers are frequently confused about.
> 
> Cheers,
> -corn
> 
> 
> Cornelius Walker
> The Proof Group
> http://proofgroup.com/