Matching discussions contrast a stable business license number with an internal surrogate database key that resets when systems are rebuilt. What principle should guide the team?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A license number that survives system swaps is a solid handshake; a database ID that dies in a rebuild is a temporary nametag. Strong business keys make deterministic matching easier. Weak keys shove you toward fuzzier, probabilistic evidence.
Full Explanation
Business keys that are stable in the real world (license numbers, tax IDs where permitted, parcel identifiers) support deterministic match rules. Surrogate keys local to a database often lack cross-system meaning and may change on migration. When business keys are missing or unreliable, matching leans more on probabilistic attribute scoring—an expected trade-off, not a reason to ban business keys.