Towards Principled, Practical Document Database Design

Michael J. Carey

doi:10.14778/3750601.3750606

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Towards Principled, Practical Document Database Design

2025-08-01

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DOI：10.14778/3750601.3750606

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Abstract

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Relational database design is a well-understood process enabled by a combination of database theory (e.g., normal forms) as well as conceptual modeling (e.g., ER-based design). In contrast, database design for NoSQL databases, notably document databases, is often approached in a much more ad hoc manner. It is frequently driven by application details and physical considerations that muddy the design process in ways all too reminiscent of the pre-relational database era. In this paper, we argue for a return to sanity - for a logical, data-first, conceptually grounded approach to document database design. We explain how such an approach can work, yielding a clean, query-friendly document database design. We also highlight a collection of document (JSON) anti-patterns to avoid. The process and the anti-patterns both stem from the authors' experiences in current and past lives when dealing with a wide variety of JSON document data from commercial applications, government applications, and university research applications.