Should I delete or disable a row in a relational database?

Question

In a brand new program where space isn\'t really that big a deal, is it better to delete a row or to disable a row by let\'s say a boolean \"Disabled\" and have the program

Answer 1

Adding a "DELETED" column to your table and marking rows instead of deleting them creates a lot more work for you with little (if any) benefit. Now, every time you write a query you have to remember to include "WHERE DELETED IS NOT NULL" (or whatever).

A better approach is to delete data when you need to delete data, and rely on your regular backup process to ensure that no data is ever lost. If for some reason you need to keep some deleted data handy (for searches, maybe), you're better off just copying the data to a different table created for this purpose and then deleting the originals.

I've inherited many databases over the years, and this strategy of flagging records instead of deleting them is unfortunately very common, and (in my experience at least) always leads to major problems down the road.