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    <p>There are four ways of handling this.</p> <ol> <li><p>Add several additional fields named "Custom1", "Custom2", "Custom3", etc. These should have a datatype of varchar(?) or similiar</p></li> <li><p>Add a field to hold the unstructured data (like an XML column).</p></li> <li><p>Create a table of name /value pairs which are associated with some type of template. Let them manage the template. You'll have to use pivot tables or similiar to get the data out.</p></li> <li><p>Use a database like <a href="http://www.mongodb.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MongoDB</a> or another <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NoSQL" rel="nofollow noreferrer">NoSql</a> style product to store this. </p></li> </ol> <p>The above said, The first one has the advantage of being fast but limits the number of custom fields to the number you defined. Older main frame type applications work this way. SalesForce CRM used to.</p> <p>The second option means that each record can have it's own custom fields. However, depending on your database there are definite challenges here. Tried this, don't recommend it.</p> <p>The third one is generally harder to code for but allows for extreme flexibility. SalesForce and other applications have gone this route; including a couple I'm responsible for. The downside is that Microsoft apparently acquired a patent on doing things this way and is in the process of <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/19/microsoft_salesforce_patent_litigation/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">suing a few companies</a> over it. Personally, I think that's bullcrap; but whatever. Point is, use at your own risk.</p> <p>The fourth option is interesting. We've played with it a bit and the performance is great while coding is pretty darn simple. This might be your best bet for the unstructured data.</p>
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    1. POHow can i design a DB where the user can define the fields and types of a detail table in a M-D relationship?
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    1. CO+1 Nice summary of the options, as it's a tough problem that comes up many times. For the NoSQL option do you use a separate collection for the attribute labels or is there a way to do reflection on the collection to get the custom attribute labels?
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    2. CO@Turnkey: With the nosql option, I would still use a "template" of sorts which defined the properties on the records. BTW,Here's an article MSDN magazine did last month. It doesn't go as far as were talking about, but it's a good introduction: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ee310029.aspx
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    3. COThanks Chris, i will look into the noSQL option and see how this can benefit my app. Cheers
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