database design suggestion 4

[w11z]

Hi everyone, What would be the best way of representing this relation between Countries, States and Cities.

1-

tblCountries
countID(PK), countName

tblCountries_States
countID, stateID

tblStates
stateID(PK), stateName

tblStates_Cities
stateID, cityID

tblCities
cityID(PK), cityName

OR is this way better

2-

tblCountries
countID(PK), countName

tblSates
stateID(PK), stateName, countID(FK)

tblCities
cityID(PK), cityName, stateID(FK), countID(FK)

Why would one design be preferred to the other?

Thanks

 

[johnherman]

Although this is not the Data Warehouse forum, remember that denormalization of country, postal code, city, address, etc into the customer record is a DW performance technique. However, denormalization should be a conscious effort, not an excuse for a poor design. Perform data modeling first, then denormalize (as a later part of the design process).

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The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was - Steven Wright