Schema - Do you use separate lookup tables rather than one large lookup table for your lookup data?

We prefer multiple lookup tables so they make more sense in ORM tools. If you have multiple lookups to the one table, you would need to do your mappings manually rather than using a tool. E.g. you could have either: LookupTable or OrderType

When you are obtaining the OrderType for an order, you would have either:

• Order.OrderType.OrderTypeID

Good as it is clear what is being retrieved from the lookup table.

• Order.LookupTable.Value

Not great as it is not clear what the nature of the lookup table is.

The other advantage of having separate lookup tables rather than one large one is that referential integrity is maintained. One issue with having one large table is that you can still enter invalid values in the Order.OrderTypeID column. E.g. if Order TypeIDs range from 1-3 and CustomerTypeIDs range from 4 to 10.

If I put OrderTypeID = 10, then I will not get referential integrity errors (even though I should) because I have entered a value which exists in the lookup table (even though it is for the wrong type).

If I want to enforce referential integrity so I can only enter the correct type for my lookup table, then I would need to resort to triggers or a (fallible) coded data tier.

For example, if a Lookup table (e.g. CustomerType) has an associated value (e.g. the field MaximumDebtAmount), we don't need to add a field that is irrelevant to all the other lookup tables. We can just add it to the individual lookup table.

It is simpler to Administer one table than multiple tables, but you can reduce this problem with a good Generic Administration Page UI.