In the situation where a seasons episode list is changed/updated and the number order is different, do the episode id's always stay coupled with their title/summary/etc? For example:
Episode Number | Episode ID | Title
1 | 123 | Pilot
2 | 124 | New York
3 | 125 | Los Angeles
Changes to:
1 | 123 | Pilot
2 | 125 | Los Angeles
3 | 124 | New York
I'm assuming this is the case but I've never thought about it and it's come up as a concern in a project of mine.
I don't know the specific implementation, but I would assume that the ID's for the episodes stay the same and only the "episode number" attribute is changed.
I tried to answer your question but I'm not actually sure what kind of answer you're looking for. Perhaps you can explain what you plan to do and why it matters?
I think what srob was trying to ask is: Does the episode ID ever change due to it's data being edited? (Such as changing the episode number)
An episode ID never changes after it's created.
But the answer to this question really depends on how you define an episode. Imagine the hypothetical case where two episodes didn't have any data added besides an episode number. Then we change episode 1x01's number to 1x02, and 1x02's number to 1x01. Now still no IDs were changed, but if your perspective uniquely identifies an episode by its number instead of its ID, from there it'll look as if the IDs were swapped.
Sorry I suppose it was poorly worded, but I think you answered it. If I understand correctly:
Start: A show has 6 episodes initially.
Change: During the course of the season, we realize that data was wrong and a new previously unknown episode needs to be inserted between 5 and 6.
Outcome: The original episodes 5 and 6 keep their ID's, and the new episode gets a new ID. The only difference is that what was once episode 6 is now episode 7, but it still has its original ID.
