Too generic names (candidate key columns)

Query goal:

Find candidate key columns with the names like id, identifikaator, code, kood, number, etc. The names should have a prefix or a suffix. These are too generic names.

Notes about the query:

The query considers both column names in English and Estonian.

Query type:

Problem detection (Each row in the result could represent a flaw in the design)

Query reliability:

High (Few or no false-positive results)

Query license:

MIT License

Fixing suggestion:

Add meaningful context to the name. Rename the columns. For instance, id => person_id and code => country_code. Follow a naming convention. Use the snake case in names.

Data source:

system catalog only

SQL query:

Click on query to copy it

select target_schema as table_schema, target_table as table_name, a.attname as suspected_column_name, constraint_type
from (select 
(select nspname from pg_namespace where oid=m.relnamespace) as target_schema,
m.relname as target_table, 
m.oid as target_table_oid,
unnest(o.conkey) AS target_col,
CASE WHEN o.contype='p' THEN 'PRIMARY KEY'
WHEN o.contype='u' THEN 'UNIQUE' END AS constraint_type
from pg_constraint o inner join pg_class c on c.oid = o.conrelid
inner join pg_class m on m.oid = o.conrelid
where o.contype in ('u','p') and o.conrelid in (select oid from pg_class c where c.relkind = 'r')) t
inner join pg_attribute a on t.target_col = a.attnum and t.target_table_oid = a.attrelid and a.attisdropped = false
where a.attname~*'^[_]*(id|kood|identifikaator|identifier|code|number)[_]*$'
order by target_schema, target_table, attname;

Collections where the query belongs to

Collection name	Collection description
Find problems about names	A selection of queries that return information about the names of database objects. Contains all the types of queries - problem detection, software measure, and general overview.
Find problems automatically	Queries, that results point to problems in the database. Each query in the collection produces an initial assessment. However, a human reviewer has the final say as to whether there is a problem or not .

Collection name

Collection description

Find problems about names

A selection of queries that return information about the names of database objects. Contains all the types of queries - problem detection, software measure, and general overview.

Find problems automatically

Queries, that results point to problems in the database. Each query in the collection produces an initial assessment. However, a human reviewer has the final say as to whether there is a problem or not .

Categories where the query belongs to

Category name	Category description
Naming	Queries of this category provide information about the style of naming.
Uniqueness	Queries of this category provide information about uniqueness constraints (PRIMARY KEY, UNIQUE, EXCLUDE) as well as unique indexes.

Category name

Category description

Naming

Queries of this category provide information about the style of naming.

Uniqueness

Queries of this category provide information about uniqueness constraints (PRIMARY KEY, UNIQUE, EXCLUDE) as well as unique indexes.

Reference materials for further reading

Reference
The corresponding code problem in case of cleaning code is "Add Meaningful Context". (Robert C. Martin, Clean Code)
This is a part of an antipatterns from the Bill Karwin's book of SQL antipatterns. See Chapter 4: ID Required.
The corresponding code smells in case of cleaning code are "N1: Choose Descriptive Names" and "N4: Unambiguous Names". (Robert C. Martin, Clean Code)

Reference

The corresponding code problem in case of cleaning code is "Add Meaningful Context". (Robert C. Martin, Clean Code)

This is a part of an antipatterns from the Bill Karwin's book of SQL antipatterns. See Chapter 4: ID Required.

The corresponding code smells in case of cleaning code are "N1: Choose Descriptive Names" and "N4: Unambiguous Names". (Robert C. Martin, Clean Code)