Do you get the chills at the thought of making database (DB) changes?
ADD symptoms include poor data quality, monolithic programs, poor response times(agility), technical debt, integration issues, and being forced to make massive changes instead of incremental improvements.
Data Quality: It’s not uncommon to find junk records in the database. You may or may not know how they got there. Improve data quality by adding constraints. Constraints are part of the operating system, that manages relationships between files. Bonus: You don’t have to write/maintain any code to do it. Just monitor for the error.
Monolithic Programs: The monster programs critical to your business that contain the business logic. Because of the complexity, this program usually requires a highly skilled resource to work on it. Extensive testing is also needed to avoid any unforeseen problems. Moving the business logic to the database via event trigger programs removes a lot of complexity from a scary program. Event Trigger programs facilitate a large part of data validation and business logic. When moved into the database engine, it will standardize where it can be found, making maintaining and testing business logic changes much safer. Changing a trigger program is much simpler, faster, and safer than changing a monolithic program.
Response times: When your users demand information currently unavailable in the database, this becomes a major issue. Adding a field to a file causes a level check and the recompile of every program referencing the file. You can dramatically minimize this pain and improve agility by adopting data-centricity. The complexity and risk can be significantly reduced, between the design and normalization of the DB, I/O servers, and the event trigger programs.
Technical debt: the implied cost of additional work that arises when software developers choose a quick and easy solution over a more comprehensive one that would take longer to implement. The question becomes, how long can you continue with a program-centric strategy?
Integration: Without moving the business logic to the database, integration with front-end GUI programs is complicated because the business logic has to be duplicated into the API. This complicates things in two ways: the back-end programmer needs to communicate the business rules for the API’s development to the API development team and then maintain it. Using event trigger programs to validate the data, minimizes API complexities and avoids maintaining the logic in multiple places.
Massive Changes: When time and pressure finally demand a DB change, it is scary, especially if it is a commonly used file such as the customer master. These changes could involve so many programs that you must freeze other developments until completion. Agility and cognitive computing (AI) demand that you transition to a data-centric application.
ADD is caused by not keeping up with technological advancements. The cure requires some education, planning, and some pain, but the benefits are substantial.
To see what a modern data-centric application looks like, visit our open-source page.
https://databoroughservices.com/rpg-open-source-project/
To better understand the solution you are welcome to book a no-strings-attached discussion.
https://calendly.com/neil-woodhams-dbs/data-centric-application-example
At Databorough Services, we understand the critical role that a well-maintained database plays in ensuring an organization’s smooth operation and efficiency. As the technology landscape continues to evolve rapidly, it becomes essential for businesses to adapt and optimize their databases to meet the demands of modern-day computing.