How many joins per functionality in real world application?

Question

The queries that i create frequently have 7-8 joins to retrieve data. Are these many joins normal in a real database application or is my database design poor? I am curious because if on each request database has to do so much work, then won't it die if few thousands of client connect?

Answer 1

In my opinion it's inevitable in some cases, the key is to have the correct indexes for the queries you're doing. With a deep object graph in ORM, or perhaps one with joined subclasses, it'd be easy to go over the 7-8 joins you talk of. I'm keen to hear what everyone else has to say about it :)

Answer 2

Its not possible to draw a Conclusion in this regard without the Application Logic Details. If your Application Logic leads you to unavoidable joins to maintain the integrity Its not a Problem, and Your Database Platform must handle it.