Curt Sampson writes:
>
> So I'm ok with relational theory, I think, and I know OO pretty
> well, at least from a programmer's viewpoint.
>
> But I'm unsure about this table inheritance thing. What is the advantage
> of using inheritance over having a staff table with the staff columns
> and a FK into the contact table? What are the disadvantages? Can anyone
> point to some literature on this?
"The Third Manifesto" by CJ Date and Hugh Darwen is a great text for
exploring Object Relational ideas.
(These are the two who wrote the very popular "Guide to the SQL Standard")