Custom fields schema

[Gervase Markham]

Nick Barnes wrote:
> First implement a solution.
> 
> Then fix the glaring bugs in it.
> 
> Then get it into the trunk.
> 
> Then deploy it on test sites such as b.m.o. and let people bang on it
> with real data.
> 
> Then fix the other bugs in it.
> 
> *Then* fix any performance problems with it, if necessary by replacing
> the database schema part of the overall custom fields solution.

But what happens at this stage, in the real world, is that no-one has 
time to rip out the schema and start again, and lots of people have made 
local modifications which would break anyway, and so we all grumble 
about how we should have got it right the first time, and live with the 
bad implementation.

While deciding on the correct approach should not delay the 
implementation of custom fields indefinitely, I think that doing some 
up-front design is a perfectly reasonable step on the way to implementation.

In the end, the choice of implementation method rests with Dave, as 
project leader. Dave - do you have enough data to make a choice yet?

Gerv