i can't keep creating tables
Where did you get this idea?
or adding columns
Of course not...
every time i need to
add a nickname- this happens a lot.
OK...
so i want to put everything in an array or json.
Those are not the only two solutions...
remember rows can have different number of nicknames.
Which is why you setup a "one-to-many (optional)" relationship between two tables; the first table's row (i.e., person) can have many related rows (i.e., nicknames) on the second table.
Each nickname a person has is represented by a single row on the "person-nickname" table with whatever attributes you wish to keep track of. New nickname means you add a new row - just like you would add a new array item to your JSON model.
If you need a truly dynamic representation (i.e, you do not know what nickname attributes you want to keep track of - like visibility and order as already shown - or want to allow users to add their own) you'd have to go with JSON (or add an hstore column to the nickname table); the array will not get you want you need
because multi-dimensional arrays are not a solution.
The solution proposed solves the "variable number of nicknames per person" need that you describe. If there are other constraints you are dealing with you need to list them.
David J.
