Re: unique constraint on 2 columns

On Fri, 2007-04-20 at 17:56 -0400, Jonathan Vanasco wrote:
> On Apr 20, 2007, at 5:43 PM, Vladimir Zelinski wrote:
>
> > This looks like more table design problem than
> > database limitation.
> > The one column should accommodate values from both
> > columns with unique index built on this column. Your
> > requirements tell me that these values are the same
> > nature and should be placed in the same column. To
> > distinguish between them use another column to put an
> > attribute.
>
> No, both values can be present at once. They're both external facing
> guids that point to the same resource and serve as keys for the table
> data. Some rows have one, some have two.
>
> in regards to table desgin solution, if I redid anything it would be
> something like:
> table_main
> main_id
> table_main_2_guid
> main_id
> guid_id unique
> context_id
>
> but then i'm using 2 tables and have to join -- which means I need to

This is more correct structure, and yes, it would involve a join.

> rewrite evertyhing that queries this table - which is both the core

No, it does not mean you need to rewrite anything. Use a view; that's
the great benefit you get from using a relational database like
PostgreSQL.

Regards,
Jeff Davis