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DBMS Keys

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5 views13 pages

DBMS Keys

Uploaded by

krishankum1950
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Types of Keys in

Database Management System


Why we have Keys in
DB?
• A Key is an attribute or a set of attributes in a relation that identifies a
tuple (record) in a relation.
• The keys are defined in a table to access or sequence the stored data
quickly
and smoothly.
• They are also used to create relationship between different tables.
Types of Keys in
Database
1. Primary Key
2. Candidate Key
3. Alternate Key
4. Foreign Key
Prim ary
Key
• Which is Unique & Can’ t be have NULL Value
• Is the column you choose to maintain
uniqueness in a table at row level.
• Primary key is the minimal super keys. In the ER diagram primary key
is represented by underlining the primary key attribute.
• Ideally a primary key is composed of only a single attribute.
• But it is possible to have a primary key composed of more than one
attribute
.
To define a field as primary key,
following conditions had to be
• No twomet :
rows can have the same primary key value.
• Every row must have a primary key value.
• The primary key field cannot be null.
• Value in a primary key column can never be modified or updated, if
any foreign key refers to that primary key
Candidate Key
• Are individual columns in a table that qualifies
for uniqueness of each row/tuple.
• Here in Employee table EmployeeID & SSN
are eligible
for a Primary Key and thus are Candidate
keys.
• Candidate Keys are super keys for which no proper
subset is a super key. In other words candidate keys
are
minimal super keys.
Alternate Key
• Candidate column other the Primary column, like if
EmployeeID is set for a PK then SSN would be
the Alternate key.
Foreign Key
• Here in below tables DeptID of Department table is Primary Key where
as
DeptID of Employee is an Foreign key.
• It means it has referred to another table. This concept is also know as
Referential Integrity.

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