>Jim,
>
>I understand that this approach does serve you well Jim, but on the other hand I think it's wrong to FORCE everyone to use generated primary keys. After our last conversation regarding this subject I did discover some problems that wouldn't have arised when using your approach. But saying that PKs should have no meaning outside the database is too farfetched to me. Virtually none of the learning books which handles the relational model do emphasize the use of generated keys. IMO it violates it to some extend.

Walter,

I have to differ with you here, E. F. Codd, the inventor of the relational model, said "Intelligent keys aren't!" I don't force anyone to do anything, I do share my experience with folks and on this issue my experience tells me there are a number of benefits of surrogate keys over natural keys and there are no benefits to natural keys other than one less field in the table structure and no need to generate the values. However, natural keys have a major problem in that their value means something other than simply identifying a record and therefore they are subject to having the value changed for reasons that have nothing to do with their role as primary key.