It sounds like a category error, but it’s a real trade off baked into every SaaS with a relational database. This is the tradeoff behind the question “Should we use Foreign Keys in our database?”
Many don’t, based on the argument that Foreign Keys slow down data insertion. The database does extra checks when inserting, deleting, and updating data, which reduces throughput. Foreign Keys force devs to check the database and require that insertions and deletions go in a specific order. The database runs slower and development takes longer.
On the other side of the tradeoff, Foreign Keys prevent entire categories of database issues. They ensure that data is inserted and deleted in the correct order. When something goes wrong, Foreign Keys prevent data corruption. They are important, but optional, safety equipment.
Back to the tradeoff: Are Foreign Keys going to raise your DB and developer costs more than you’ll lose from customer churn and developer time spent remediating data corruption?
