# Application and Database Design **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [April 14, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/application-and-database-design/57831 "2006-04-14T17:20:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lazukars)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/application-and-database-design/57831/1 "2006-04-14T17:20:58Z")
Hi, I am begining the design of an order management system, and had a few questions about the database design. For example: I have a customers table and an orders table, with a one to many relationship. Now if i change the customers address after the order has been created, it will be updated in any of the past orders, and I do not wish this to happen. Is the best way to deal with this to store the customers information in the order table, or is there an easy way to set up some sort of versioning system for the customer within rails? Thanks, Ryan ---
**Author:** ![lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lazukars)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/application-and-database-design/57831/2 "2006-04-14T17:39:13Z")
I think that the easiest way to do this is create an addresses table with relationships to both the customers and the orders. It would have many addresses for both customers and orders (one to many relations). This is how you set up a versioning system. It also requires that you put into the addresses table some indicator of a preferred address for the customer so that it is easy to know which is the default. Others may have some other ideas. Ben Orchard ---
**Author:** ![lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lazukars)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/application-and-database-design/57831/3 "2006-04-14T17:42:19Z")
On 4/14/06, Ryan L. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thanks, > Ryan > > * * * > > Rails mailing list > removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid > [http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails](http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails) Hi Ryan > From your description, I think the simplest, best solution would be to > “stamp” the current customer address into any order created. That way > the address “stays” with the order, independtly of the client. You can > however retrieve all past orders of the client, and hence all his past > addresses, so you in effect get all the benefits of versioning without > the costs. Regards, Alder ---
**Author:** ![lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lazukars)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/application-and-database-design/57831/4 "2006-04-14T18:24:12Z")
Ryan L. wrote: > I am begining the design of an order management system, and had a few > questions > about the database design. For example: I have a customers table and an > orders > table, with a one to many relationship. Now if i change the customers > address > after the order has been created, it will be updated in any of the past > orders, > and I do not wish this to happen. Is the best way to deal with this to > store the > customers information in the order table, or is there an easy way to set > up some > sort of versioning system for the customer within rails? Check out the acts\_as\_versioned plugin – Josh S. [http://blog.hasmanythrough.com](http://blog.hasmanythrough.com) ---
**Author:** ![lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lazukars](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lazukars)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/application-and-database-design/57831/5 "2006-04-14T18:11:41Z")
An address table is one good idea, but keep in mind that if you want to meet your first goal of keeping the addresses used on invoices, you’d have to save any “edited” address as a new address entry and retain fields for marking which ones are “current”, maybe one for “which” of the users’ saved addresses this is (home, work, gramdma,etc.), and another for the version, so that an order going to Mary’s home address in April stays linked to the April home address. A much simpler but less flexible solution is to have address fields in the order itself and copy them from the User table at the time the order is saved. This way addresses and even users can be modified and deleted to your heart’s content, but the address info stays with the record of the order. The disadvantage to the simpler approach is that it doesn’t offer a clean way to generate a report on all the orders shipped to a given address, for instance. But then, plenty of e-commerce sites get by just fine without such things. It’s all a matter of how much complexity you reasonably expect to use. Ryan L. wrote: > Hi, > > I am begining the design of an order management system, and had a few > questions > about the database design. For example: I have a customers table and an > orders > table, with a one to many relationship. Now if i change the customers > address > after the order has been created, it will be updated in any of the past > orders, > and I do not wish this to happen. Is the best way to deal with this to > store the > customers information in the order table, or is there an easy way to set > up some > sort of versioning system for the customer within rails? > > Thanks, > Ryan