Is it ok to use character values for primary keys?

Question

Is there a performance gain or best practice when it comes to using unique, numeric ID fields in a database table compared to using character-based ones?

For instanc

Answer 1

I'm just going to roll with your example. Doug is correct when he says that text is fine. Even for a medium sized (~50gig) database having a 3 letter code be a primary key won't kill the database. If it makes development easier, reduces joins on the other table and it's a field that users would be typing in...I say go for it. Don't do it if it's just an abbreviation that you show on a page or because it makes the athletes table look pretty. I think the key is the question "Is this a code that the user will type in and not just pick from a list?"

Let me give you an example of when I used a text column for a key. I was making software for processing medical claims. After the claim got all digitized a human had to look at the claim and then pick a code for it that designated what kind of claim it was. There were hundreds of codes...and these guys had them all memorized or crib sheets to help them. They'd been using these same codes for years. Using a 3 letter key let them just fly through the claims processing.