Question

I have three different users tables, and I would like to know what is the best way to create a private messaging system for them to communicate.

I tried to create it with a simple db scheme:

id (int)
from (int)
to (int)
subject (varchar)
message (text)
timestamp (timestamp)
read (bool)
deleted_to (bool)
deleted_from (bool)

But complications instantly arised because of the three users tables, where user IDs in table A can have ID = 1 and another user in table B can have ID = 2

Any ideas on how to create a better DB scheme? Thanks

Answer 1

use “model” column with varchar type to save which user model the user comes from.
this way you can have several entries with “2” for example. model + user_id then has to be unique.

e.g.:

User1 3
User1 5
User2 3
...