On Tue, Aug 30, 2005 at 22:51:34 -0700,
operationsengineer1@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> the code is actually a single field. the reason it
> isn't just a numeric value is b/c i thought there
> would be value in making the code somewhat human
> readable.
>
> as it stands now, a person can look at the defect code
> and know will know the causal process.
>
> is there a better way to make the code semi-human
> readable and still act as a defect code (and primary
> key)?
Yes, split it into two columns and use the combination of columns as a
primary key. When displaying the information to humans, concatenate the
two fields. You could even create a view which has a column with the
concatenated fields.