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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-30T17:39:51+00:00

This should be a simple Yes/No answer so here goes. If I set a

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This should be a simple Yes/No answer so here goes.

If I set a 3 tables, 2 typical recordsets and 1 that joins them by the id of the 2 tables, do I need the id from both tables in order to have an entry in the join table?

The scenario is a Jobs table and a Parts table linked by JobsParts table. But some parts are not in the Parts table, they are just freetext entries (so as to avoid stock control issues) belonging to a Job.

Hope this is enough to explain my question.

Thanks

BTW using CakePHP 2.0

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    For database sanity, I’d say the join table ‘jobs_parts’ should have both IDs.

    If you try entering free-form parts into the join table, you’re not only going to increase the size of the join table, but you’ve effectively lost the ability to grow/expand – ie. what if you want to add a few more fields to this unknown part? Or what if it turns out to be a part that you actually want in your normal parts table…. it just gets confusing.

    There are other options for dealing with free-form parts vs actual parts…

    • have a field in the parts table that’s a tinyint(1) for whether or not it’s a verified part
    • OR make an UnknownParts model/table

    In my opinion, go with what makes logical sense for ease of understanding and for future updates to your database/website…etc. And IMO, adding a freeform part into the join table would not fit that bill.

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