> On Mar 21, 2020, at 1:13 PM, Peter J. Holzer <hjp-pgsql@xxxxxx> wrote: > > On 2020-03-21 12:55:33 -0600, Rob Sargent wrote: >> To me the description of the ID smacks of database-in-the-name folly. I >> recognize that OP is likely unable to take another path. I’ll not push this any >> further. > > Identifiers often have internal structure. In Austria for example, the > social security number contains the birth date. Invoice numbers, project > numbers or court case numbers often contain the year. > > That's because they are used by *people*, and people like their > identifiers to make some kind of sense. The computer doesn't care. Since OP said this was digital not paper, I see this as a presentation problem bleeding into database design (assuming your response was an invitation to push further).
