Is there a reason for or against setting some fields as NULL or NOT NULL in a mysql table, apart from primary/foreign key fields?
Is there a reason for or against setting some fields as NULL or NOT
Share
Sign Up to our social questions and Answers Engine to ask questions, answer people’s questions, and connect with other people.
Login to our social questions & Answers Engine to ask questions answer people’s questions & connect with other people.
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported.
Is there a reason for or against setting some fields as NULL or NOT NULL in a mysql table, apart from primary/foreign key fields?
That completely depends on your domain to be honest. Functionally it makes little difference to the database engine, but if you’re looking to have a well defined domain it is often best to have both the database and application layer mirror the requirements you are placing on the user.
If it’s moot to you whether or not the user enters their “Display Name”, then by all means mark the column as nullable. On the other hand, if you are going to require a “Display Name” you should mark it non null in the database as well as enforcing the constraint in the application. By doubling the constraint, you ensure that should your front-end change, the domain is still fully qualified.