Performance question

[dmeyring]

I have a database with 5 tables - there are no parent-child relationships between the tables, they all contain pieces of the same record. Each table has 10-20 fields.

Is it better in terms of performance & understandability to keep them this way, or is there a better alternative? I could combine all into one large table and use queries to separate the groupings??

 

[lespaul]

you should follow the guidelines listed in the fundamentals document linked below.

Leslie

Anything worth doing is a lot more difficult than it's worth - Unknown Induhvidual

Essential reading for database developers:
The Fundamentals of Relational Database Design
Understanding SQL Joins