Database design for a social networking site

database database-design social-networking
user326638 picture user326638 · Jul 17, 2010 · Viewed 69.8k times · Source

What are the Tables that would be present in a social networking site (ex: Twitter).

I have a users table as of now. How to keep track of followers and people I do follow?

  • Should I maintain a separate table for followers and people I follow?
  • What are the columns which would be there in those tables?

Please don't think this as Subjective/Off topic. As I am a beginner, I thought experts can guide me to get a good DB design?

Answer

Andy Robinson picture Andy Robinson · Jul 17, 2010

Try having a look at Database Answers in particular the data models. They have several different designs for various systems. This one is for a social networking site which may give you an idea of what's required.

You may want to search on SO for other social network database questions. I found this one that had a link to flickr showing a schema which appears to be from Facebook.

Your database design will be based around your system requirements. Without knowing exactly what you are trying to achieve, it is difficult to give you the best design.

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