title: I would like to store many object types in a SQL database. Should I have a different table for each object type?
body: <p>The database stores different object types for engineering projects: motors, cables, pumps, sensors etc.</p>
  
  <p>We're debating whether to have a different table for each object type? (Heaps of tables, a pain when we want to add a new object type -- which would happen every now and then...)</p>
  
  <p>Or, as we currently do, should we have one table that stores the object types (ID, name) and another table that stores the possible attributes for each object type, and another table that stores the values of each attribute for each attribute type? (A real PITA, but flexible.)</p>
  
  <p>Anyone done anything similar? Points to consider? Implementation?</p>