Jim:

> While I agree with your proposition that any absolute is a problem in
> the simple fact that it is an absolute, I would still propose that use
> of surrogate primary keys in all cases where there is no overwhelming
> evidence that to do so would cause problems is a very good "best practise".
> Remember in this context that "best practise" is not an absolute but a
> general approach to be followed unless overwhelming evidence indicates
> otherwise.

I agree that using surrogate keys is more often than not the best solution
and I am glad to see that you for one will consider using natural keys in
some specxial cases.

My problem, and it is not restricted to this thread, is that too many people
are saying things like Thou shall always use surrogate keys without
actually considering the problem at hand. It is likely that some developers
got burned a few times using natural keys and stoppped using them because of
those scars. If I had stopped considering alternatives because of bad past
experience, I wouldn't be able to solve half the problems that I solving
today...

Daniel