Each object has its unique primary key and a separate unique code. The code, in contrast to the primary key, is a text and therefore allows the user to define it (or it can be automatically generated if needed. Elements can cover both cases without the need of additional intervention), and, as long as it is unique, this greatly enhances the speed of searching through records. The code has two other very important tasks:

• In ERP systems and in applications in general (web-based and desktop applications), the user often builds complex structures of products, clients and other objects, using the code as a universal name, which can sometimes even contain more information than simply the name of the record – for example for a given product, its code may include the group, the supplier and the manufacturer.
• In contemporary web sites links are no longer endless rows of unreadable characters, but aim at a comprehensible format, which is easier to remember and is a convenient way of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of the website. This is precisely what the codes of records create - comprehensible and easy to remember URLs for each page of the website.