>Is there a performance issue as to wheather or not the primary key field is the first column or last column of the table?
I don't see any reason why this would affect performance at all. I maintain a certain order of fields, only to keep things tidy, and to find my fields quickly:
First, the primary key.
Next, the foreign key of the parent table (if there is one).
Finally, all other fields.
Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire... (from Gulliver's Travels)