Data Table Structure

Question

I was given an excel spreadsheet that gave a rough idea of how the data is structured. There are approximately 25 columns, and each column contains values that will be available as dropdown menu choices.

my problem is that one of the requirements is that some columns should be hidden or visible if a value is selected from a dropdown choice.

 for example if VFD is selected from a list of equipment types, it will show columns that are related to that equipment type.

the bigger question i'm thinking is should have all of the columns in one table, and use choice lists on the column. Or should I create tables for each of the types, and use relationships between the tables?

Thanks, Jason

Answer 1

I'm getting the impression that you are looking to export the spreadsheet data to a relational database (SQL Server, Oracle, Access, etc). If so, I think it would make more sense to normalize the data by giving each unique type its own table like you mentioned. Then you just need to query the appropriate table for data based on the dropdown value.