How would you design a database for a comparison matrix

Question

I am creating a comparison matrix and would like it to be dynamic. Take a look at this url:

http://cmsmatrix.org/matrix/cms-matrix/1work

This type of database design has really challanged me and every approach that i take to this may result in serious performance or maintenance issues. if you do not recommend a relational database for this direct me in the right place. Thanks

Answer 1

I think this is a good use/case for something like mongodb or couchdb.

On the other hand, as far as I know, comparison matrices have seldom thousands of atributes for thousands of items. So they're not that big.

Is a triplet (propId, itemId, value) as core table with references to a property table (which describes what the property means) and an item table (with standard item attributes) really so slow for the numbers you have in mind? I gather that the data would be semi-static, so once it is loaded it can be cached and the performance of the database does not really matter.