Reference different tables depending on a condition

Question

I have a table [Advertiser] and a table [Ad] that has a N..M relationship that an Advertiser can have many Ads so that [Ad] will have a column referncing [Advertiser].

An Advertiser can either be a company or a person and the data entered into the table will differ depending. So my thought was that I should split up the [Advertiser] table into two tables like [CompanyAdvertiser] and [PersonAdvertiser].

Is it then possible to have a column in [Ad] having a reference to either [CompanyAdvertiser] or [PersonAdvertiser] depending on who should be the Advertiser?

Assuming they have the same type, you can have such a column. But you cannot have foreign key relationships using that column to two different tables. — Gordon Linoff, Nov 20 '20 at 16:59
are you OK with having a solution for particular RDMS? Tag it, if so. — triclosan, Nov 20 '20 at 17:03
Just have a column for advertiser_type, company or person, in the advertiser table. — Steve, Nov 20 '20 at 17:09

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 20 '20 at 17:11

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I would suggest having one table Advertiser with a 'type' column that could be either 'person' or 'company'. Then add reference to this table in Ad table

answered Nov 20 '20 at 17:11

Preeti

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Reference different tables depending on a condition

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