Challenges with data
published on 2024/02/05
First and foremost is naming. Names are hard but changing column or field names in a database after the fact can be daunting, especially if the data size is enormous because migrations can be error prone, take a long time, and sometimes require application downtime (which nobody likes to do). Do the names match the domain they are modeling? Are they descriptive? Short cuts and acronyms aren’t worth the effort.
If its an “account_id” then don’t call it “acc_id”. Long term think about who is going to read this content: other developers, data scientists, you (after you’ve forgotten everything). Ensure those names are consistent with other names as well! If you’re using snake case, keep snake case everywhere. Consistency helps minimize cognitive load, people will learn and understand patterns from the consistent naming conventions. Don’t reference “account_id” in one table, and “account” in another table.