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Asked: 2026-06-08T20:31:40+00:00

Simple question. I have several different models stored in SQL databases. A Table of

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Simple question. I have several different models stored in SQL databases. A Table of images records with byte data, large multi-field user data table, ect. All of these models require primary keys. Most beginner tutorials show usage of int for ids. Is this standard and professional. I find it odd to start use int since is variable in length and starts with 1 :S

Sorry for the amateur question, but I couldn’t find any adequate materials on the subject via google.

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  1. Editorial Team

    There’s nothing implicitly unprofessional about the use of INT or any other integral data type as a primary key or identity column. It just depends on your business needs. In the interest of keeping programming as simple as possible, the INT data type is a fine choice for many business needs:

    • It is capable of representing about 2.1 billion unique records.
    • It consumes minimal hard disk space in modern hardware.
    • It is fast for SELECTs and UPDATEs.
    • It is fairly ease to refactor up to a larger integral if the number of records threatens to exceed the limits. BIGINT can address more records than you can put in your database. Seriously.

    One reason you might not want to use an integral primary key:

    • You might use a Guid (or UNIQUEIDENTIFIER in SQL Server terms) for global uniqueness. In other words, if you migrate your data to another location, the primary key should still be unique.
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