What is Schema Weakness Enumeration?
A structured approach to preventing data integrity failures
The Problem We Solve
Every year, thousands of organizations experience data integrity failures that could have been prevented. These failures stem from predictable patterns in database schema design - what we call Schema Weaknesses.
Just as OWASP documents security vulnerabilities and CWE catalogs software weaknesses, SWE provides a comprehensive enumeration of database schema anti-patterns that lead to data corruption, performance degradation, and system failures.
Understanding Cantorian Magnitude
We classify each weakness by its Cantorian magnitude - a measure of how deeply the problem is woven into your system:
Aleph-Naught (Countable)
Discrete, enumerable problems with clear boundaries. These can be fixed with finite effort.
Example: Missing indexes on specific columns
Aleph-One (Uncountable)
Systemic issues that compound over time. Fixing requires architectural changes.
Example: Lack of foreign key constraints across the system
Power Set Cardinality
Fundamental design flaws with exponential impact. May require complete redesign.
Example: Using INT for rapidly growing primary keys
How SWE Works
Identify
Run detection queries to find schema weaknesses in your database
Assess
Understand the magnitude and potential impact of each weakness
Remediate
Follow proven patterns to fix issues before they cause failures
Prevent
Implement best practices to avoid introducing new weaknesses
The Applied Data Integrity Framework
SWE is part of the Applied Data Integrity (ADI) framework, which provides:
- Pattern Recognition: Identify recurring schema problems across industries
- Root Cause Analysis: Understand why these patterns lead to failures
- Actionable Guidance: Specific queries and fixes for each weakness
- Preventive Measures: Best practices to avoid future issues
By the Numbers
Get Started
Ready to improve your database's integrity?