DynamoDB query on boolean key

Question

I\'m new to DynamoDB (and to noSQL in general) and am struggling a little to get my head round some of the concepts. One thing in particular is giving me some problems, which is

Answer 1

My project includes this particular scenario and I've followed the DynamoDB best practice of using sparse indexes on both Local and Global Secondary Indexes. Here is what I would do with your example:

Table: reportId (string, hash key) || reportText (string) || isActive (string, marked as "x") || category (string)

ActiveReportsIndex (Local Secondary Index): reportID (hash key) || isActive (range key)

ActiveReportsByCategoryIndex (Global Secondary Index): category (hash key) || isActive (range key) || reportId

The idea behind sparse indexes is that only reports marked as isActive: "x" will show up in your indexes, so they should require less storage and processing than your main table. Instead of making the isActive attribute a boolean type, which will always store a true or false value, use use a string like "x" or anything else you want when the report is active and DELETE the attribute completely when the report is not active. Makes sense?

UPDATE: If you want a specific kind of sort when you query (e.g. chronological), use a number (e.g. a unix timestamp) instead of an "x" string.