Open Stack

Hi All,

I have been working on defining the Language pack database schema. Here is a link to my review which is still a WIP - https://review.openstack.org/#/c/71132/3.
There are a couple of different opinions on how we should be designing the schema.

Language pack has several complex attributes which are listed here - https://etherpad.openstack.org/p/Solum-Language-pack-json-format
We need to support search queries on language packs based on various criteria. One example could be 'find a language pack where type='java' and version>1.4'

Following are the two options that are currently being discussed for the DB schema:

Option 1: Having a separate table for each complex attribute, in order to achieve normalization. The current schema follows this approach.
                   However, this design has certain drawbacks. It will result in a lot of complex DB queries and each new attribute will require a code change.
Option 2: We could have a predefined subset of attributes on which we would support search queries.
                    In this case, we would define columns (separate tables in case of complex attributes) only for this subset of attributes and all other attributes will be a part of a json blob.
                    With this option, we will have to go through a schema change in case we decide to support search queries on other attributes at a later stage.

I would like to know everyone's thoughts on these two approaches so that we can take a final decision and go ahead with one approach.
Suggestions regarding any other approaches are welcome too!

Thanks,
Arati

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