Chapter 10: The Importance of Strategies

We’ve covered a lot of ground already about the basics of DynamoDB, and the second half of this book contains a number of data modeling examples. There’s no substitute for seeing a full example of a DynamoDB table in action to really grok how the modeling works.

Before we look at those examples, though, we’re going to cover a concept that’s essential when it comes to modeling well with DynamoDB—namely, strategies. In order to succeed with DynamoDB, it is crucial to understand and be able to apply a variety of strategies for modeling your data.

With DynamoDB, on the other hand, there are multiple ways to approach the problem, and you need to use judgment as to which approach works best for your situation. DynamoDB modeling is more art than science—two people modeling the same application can have vastly different table designs.

Let’s look at one example from above—modeling a one-to-many relationship. In the next chapter, we cover five different ways to model one-to-many relationships in DynamoDB:

1: Denormalizing the data and storing the nested objects as a document attribute

2: Denormalizing the data by duplicating it across multiple items

3: Using a composite primary key

4: Creating a secondary index

5: Using a composite sort key to handle hierarchical data

Knowing these strategies is important for success in data modeling. As you gain experience, you’ll learn to attack your application data model one access pattern at a time, searching for the right strategy to solve the immediate problem. Your model will come together like the pieces in a puzzle with each different strategy helping to achieve the ultimate goal.

Data modeling with DynamoDB requires flexibility, creativity, and persistence. It can be frustrating, but it can also be a lot of fun.

In the next six chapters, we’ll look at some of the strategies you can use in modeling with DynamoDB.