name: database-design description: Designs database schemas, relationships, indexes, and migrations for relational and NoSQL databases. Trigger keywords: database design, schema, migration, ERD, normalization, index, foreign key, table design. allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Edit, Write, Bash

Database Design

Overview

This skill focuses on designing efficient, scalable, and maintainable database schemas. It covers relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL), NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Redis), and data modeling best practices.

Instructions

1. Understand Data Requirements

• Identify entities and their attributes
• Map relationships between entities
• Determine data access patterns
• Estimate data volumes and growth

2. Design Schema

• Normalize data appropriately (typically 3NF)
• Define primary keys and foreign keys
• Choose appropriate data types
• Plan for NULL handling

3. Optimize for Performance

• Design indexes for query patterns
• Consider denormalization where needed
• Plan partitioning strategy for large tables
• Design for concurrent access

4. Plan Migrations

• Create reversible migrations
• Handle data transformations
• Plan for zero-downtime deployments
• Version control schema changes

Best Practices

1. Choose Appropriate Types: Use correct data types for storage efficiency
2. Index Wisely: Index columns used in WHERE, JOIN, and ORDER BY
3. Normalize First: Start normalized, denormalize for performance
4. Use Constraints: Enforce data integrity at database level
5. Plan for Scale: Consider sharding and replication early
6. Document Schemas: Maintain ERD and data dictionary
7. Test Migrations: Always test migrations on production-like data

Examples

Example 1: E-Commerce Schema (PostgreSQL)

-- Users table with proper constraints
CREATE TABLE users (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
    password_hash VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW(),
    updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW(),
    deleted_at TIMESTAMPTZ,

    CONSTRAINT email_format CHECK (email ~* '^[A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\.[A-Za-z]{2,}$')
);

-- Products with proper indexing
CREATE TABLE products (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    sku VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
    name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    description TEXT,
    price DECIMAL(10, 2) NOT NULL CHECK (price >= 0),
    stock_quantity INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 CHECK (stock_quantity >= 0),
    category_id UUID REFERENCES categories(id),
    created_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW(),
    updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Indexes for common queries
CREATE INDEX idx_products_category ON products(category_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_products_price ON products(price);
CREATE INDEX idx_products_name_search ON products USING gin(to_tsvector('english', name));

-- Orders with proper relationships
CREATE TABLE orders (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    user_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES users(id),
    status VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'pending',
    total_amount DECIMAL(10, 2) NOT NULL,
    shipping_address JSONB NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW(),
    updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW(),

    CONSTRAINT valid_status CHECK (status IN ('pending', 'paid', 'shipped', 'delivered', 'cancelled'))
);

CREATE INDEX idx_orders_user ON orders(user_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_orders_status ON orders(status);
CREATE INDEX idx_orders_created ON orders(created_at DESC);

-- Order items junction table
CREATE TABLE order_items (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    order_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES orders(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
    product_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES products(id),
    quantity INTEGER NOT NULL CHECK (quantity > 0),
    unit_price DECIMAL(10, 2) NOT NULL,

    UNIQUE(order_id, product_id)
);

Example 2: Migration Script

-- Migration: Add customer loyalty program
-- Version: 20240115_001

BEGIN;

-- Add loyalty tier to users
ALTER TABLE users
ADD COLUMN loyalty_tier VARCHAR(20) DEFAULT 'bronze',
ADD COLUMN loyalty_points INTEGER DEFAULT 0;

-- Add constraint for valid tiers
ALTER TABLE users
ADD CONSTRAINT valid_loyalty_tier
CHECK (loyalty_tier IN ('bronze', 'silver', 'gold', 'platinum'));

-- Create points history table
CREATE TABLE loyalty_points_history (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    user_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES users(id),
    points_change INTEGER NOT NULL,
    reason VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    reference_type VARCHAR(50),
    reference_id UUID,
    created_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW()
);

CREATE INDEX idx_loyalty_history_user ON loyalty_points_history(user_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_loyalty_history_created ON loyalty_points_history(created_at DESC);

COMMIT;

-- Rollback script (save separately)
-- BEGIN;
-- DROP TABLE IF EXISTS loyalty_points_history;
-- ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS loyalty_points;
-- ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN IF EXISTS loyalty_tier;
-- COMMIT;

Example 3: MongoDB Document Design

// User document with embedded addresses
{
  _id: ObjectId("..."),
  email: "user@example.com",
  profile: {
    name: "John Doe",
    avatar_url: "https://..."
  },
  addresses: [
    {
      type: "shipping",
      street: "123 Main St",
      city: "Boston",
      state: "MA",
      zip: "02101",
      is_default: true
    }
  ],
  preferences: {
    newsletter: true,
    notifications: {
      email: true,
      push: false
    }
  },
  created_at: ISODate("2024-01-15T10:00:00Z")
}

// Indexes
db.users.createIndex({ email: 1 }, { unique: true });
db.users.createIndex({ "addresses.zip": 1 });
db.users.createIndex({ created_at: -1 });