Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Progress Dynamics Basic Development

Avoid constraints that lead to larger transaction scopes.

Do not impose unnecessary constraints on data that make coding more difficult. For example, by allowing an Order to have no OrderLines, a user can add the Order header first and then add the lines in separate transactions. Built-in referential integrity constraints would force the user to add the lines in the same transaction. Often, a flag on the Order indicating whether it has any lines is better than forcing the user to enter the first line.