[thesite] database: Attributes table

[rudy]

> Basically, I have a similar idea I want to apply to something other
> than member. I was to add attributes to something else, and I was
> wondering if the attribute table was only for member attributes.
> It looks like it is.

yes, it is

> If so, I can do one of two things:
>
> (a) add a column (and maybe a separate lookup table)
> speciying attribute type (what it applies to)
> (b) add a separate table for these attributes

looks like you are talking about a generic code table

i went and dug out an old page about the design of generic code tables for
a large project i worked on a few years ago

i've posted it on my site, because i thought it might be valuable at least
to let you see the two options we considered

   http://r937.com/typetbls.htm

if you think this would make a good article, i'll add it to the backlog
;o)

anyhow, the point is, if you see yourself declaring code tables all over
the place, you have to balance the complexity of the generic code table
approach (it involves another join to resolve descriptions) against
flexibility (one admin interface for any codes in the application, easy to
add additional language support, etc.)

rudy