Creating tables dynamically at runtime

Question

Is creating a table dynamically at runtime based on a user\'s interactions a good or bad thing for a web-app? (I\'m talking java, but question probably applies to more).

Answer 1

In general it's not a good idea unless your users are all good data modellers. Most users don't make good database designers. The average user won't think about things like making the right choice of data types and keys, designing coding schemes, analysing dependencies or applying normalization principles. Creating good data models is hard, which is why it tends to be left to specialists.