For example, for the following table, measurement (without normalization) =========== id | value | measurement_unit | measurement_type ------------------------------------------------ 1 0.23 mm width 2 0.38 mm width 2 0.72 mm width If I normalize to the following format, I will encounter several problem compared to table without normalization measurement (normalization) =========== id | value | measurement_unit_id | measurement_type_id ------------------------------------------------------ 1 0.23 1 1 2 0.38 1 1 2 0.72 1 1 measurement_unit_id =================== id | value ---------- 1 | mm measurement_type_id =================== id | value ---------- 1 | width (1) When rows grow to few millions in table measurement, the join operation on normalization table, is *much* slower compared to non-normalization table. One of the most frequent used query, To retrieve "value", "measurement_unit" and "measurement_type", I need to join measurement + measurement_unit_id + measurement_type_id. For non-normalization table, I need NOT to join. Right now, I cannot justify why I need to use normalization. I afraid I miss out several important points when I turn into un-normalize solution. Please advice if you realize I miss out several important points. Thanks Yan Cheng CHEOK -- Sent via pgsql-general mailing list (pgsql-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-general