Database design for user settings

Question

Which of the following options, if any, is considered best practice when designing a table used to store user settings?

(OPTION 1)

USER_SETTINGS
-Id         


        

Answer 1

Each option has its place, and the choice depends on your specific situation. I am comparing the pros and cons for each option below:

Option 1: Pros:

• Can handle many options
• New options can easily be added
• A generic interface can be developed to manage the options

Option 1: Cons

• When a new option is added, its more complex to update all user accounts with the new option
• Option names can spiral out of control
• Validation of allowed option values is more complex, additional meta data is needed for that

Option 2: Pros

• Validation of each option is easier than option 1 since each option is an individual column

Option 2: Cons

• A database update is required for each new option
• With many options the database tables could become more difficult to use