Primary Key
In the relational model of databases, a primary key is a ''specific choice'' of a ''minimal'' set of attributes (Column (database), columns) that uniquely specify a tuple (Row (database), row) in a Relation (database), relation (Table (database), table). Informally, a primary key is "which attributes identify a record," and in simple cases constitute a single attribute: a unique ID. More formally, a primary key is a choice of candidate key (a minimal superkey); any other candidate key is an alternate key. A primary key may consist of real-world observables, in which case it is called a ''natural key'', while an attribute created to function as a key and not used for identification outside the database is called a ''surrogate key''. For example, for a database of people (of a given nationality), time and location of birth could be a natural key. National identification number is another example of an attribute that may be used as a natural key. History Although mainly used today in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Relational Model
The relational model (RM) is an approach to managing data using a Structure (mathematical logic), structure and language consistent with first-order logic, first-order predicate logic, first described in 1969 by English computer scientist Edgar F. Codd, where all data is represented in terms of tuples, grouped into relation (database), relations. A database organized in terms of the relational model is a relational database. The purpose of the relational model is to provide a Declarative programming, declarative method for specifying data and queries: users directly state what information the database contains and what information they want from it, and let the database management system software take care of describing data structures for storing the data and retrieval procedures for answering queries. Most relational databases use the SQL data definition and query language; these systems implement what can be regarded as an engineering approximation to the relational model. A ''t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A destroyed building in Bam, Iran after the 2003 Bam earthquake killed 30,000 people; A U.S. Army M1 Abrams tank patrols the streets of Baghdad after the city fell to U.S.-led forces; Abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison by U.S. personnel; Protests in London against the Invasion of Iraq; "Mission Accomplished" became an ironic symbol of the protractedness of the Iraq War after President George W. Bush's infamous speech; a statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled in Baghdad after he was deposed during the Iraq War., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster rect 200 0 400 200 2002–2004 SARS outbreak rect 400 0 600 200 2003 Bam earthquake rect 0 200 300 400 Iraq War rect 300 200 600 400 Battle of Baghd ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Relational Database
A relational database is a (most commonly digital) database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. A system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relational database systems are equipped with the option of using the SQL (Structured Query Language) for querying and maintaining the database. History The term "relational database" was first defined by E. F. Codd at IBM in 1970. Codd introduced the term in his research paper "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks". In this paper and later papers, he defined what he meant by "relational". One well-known definition of what constitutes a relational database system is composed of Codd's 12 rules. However, no commercial implementations of the relational model conform to all of Codd's rules, so the term has gradually come to describe a broader class of database systems, which at a minimum: # Present the data to the user as relati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Candidate Key
A candidate key, or simply a key, of a relational database is a minimal superkey. In other words, it is any set of columns that have a unique combination of values in each row (which makes it a superkey), with the additional constraint that removing any column would possibly produce duplicate rows (which makes it a minimal superkey). Specific candidate keys are sometimes called primary keys, secondary keys or alternate keys. The columns in a candidate key are called prime attributes, and a column that does not occur in any candidate key is called a non-prime attribute. Every relation without NULL values will have at least one candidate key: Since there cannot be duplicate rows, the set of all columns is a superkey, and if that isn't minimal, some subset of that will be minimal. There is a functional dependency from the candidate key to all the attributes in the relation. The candidate keys of a relation are all the possible ways we can identify a row. As such, they are an impo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Unique Key
In relational database management systems, a unique key is a candidate key that is not the primary key of the relation. All the candidate keys of a relation can uniquely identify the records of the relation, but only one of them is used as the primary key of the relation. The remaining candidate keys are called unique keys because they can uniquely identify a record in a relation. Unique keys can consist of multiple columns. Unique keys are also called alternate keys. Unique keys are an alternative to the primary key of the relation. Generally, the unique keys have a UNIQUE constraint assigned to it in order to prevent duplicates (a duplicate entry is not valid in a unique column). Alternate keys may be used like the primary key when doing a single-table select or when filtering in a ''where'' clause, but are not typically used to join multiple tables. Summary Keys provide the means for database users and application software to identify, access and update information in a databas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Superkey
In the relational data model a superkey is a set of attributes that uniquely identifies each tuple of a relation. Because superkey values are unique, tuples with the same superkey value must also have the same non-key attribute values. That is, non-key attributes are '' functionally dependent'' on the superkey. The set of all attributes is always a superkey (the ''trivial superkey''). Tuples in a relation are by definition unique, with duplicates removed after each operation, so the set of all attributes is always uniquely valued for every tuple. A '' candidate key'' (or ''minimal superkey'') is a superkey that can't be reduced to a simpler superkey by removing an attribute. For example, in an employee schema with attributes employeeID, name, job, and departmentID, if employeeID values are unique then employeeID combined with any or all of the other attributes can uniquely identify tuples in the table. Each combination, , , , and so on is a superkey. is a candidate key--no subs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Natural Key
A natural key (also known as business key or domain key) is a type of unique key in a database formed of attributes that exist and are used in the external world outside the database (i.e. in the business domain or domain of discourse). In the relational model of data, a natural key is a superkey and is therefore a functional determinant for all attributes in a relation. A natural key serves two complementary purposes: it provides a means of identification for data and it imposes a rule, specifically a ''uniqueness constraint'', to ensure that data remains unique within an information system. The uniqueness constraint assures uniqueness of data within a certain technical context (e.g. a set of values in a table, file or relation variable) by rejecting input of any data that would otherwise violate the constraint. This means that the user can rely on a guaranteed correspondence between facts identified by key values recorded in a system and the external domain of discourse (a single ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Due Diligence
Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations. A common example of due diligence in various industries is the process through which a potential acquirer evaluates a target company or its assets for an acquisition. The theory behind due diligence holds that performing this type of investigation contributes significantly to informed decision making by enhancing the amount and quality of information available to decision makers and by ensuring that this information is systematically used to deliberate on the decision at hand and all its costs, benefits, and risks. Etymology The term “due diligence” means "required carefulness" or "reasonable care" in general usage, and has been used in the literal s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Active Record Pattern
In software engineering, the active record pattern is an architectural pattern. It is found in software that stores in-memory object data in relational databases. It was named by Martin Fowler in his 2003 book ''Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture''. The interface of an object conforming to this pattern would include functions such as Insert, Update, and Delete, plus properties that correspond more or less directly to the columns in the underlying database table. The active record pattern is an approach to accessing data in a database. A database table or view is wrapped into a class. Thus, an object instance is tied to a single row in the table. After creation of an object, a new row is added to the table upon save. Any object loaded gets its information from the database. When an object is updated, the corresponding row in the table is also updated. The wrapper class implements accessor methods or properties for each column in the table or view. This pattern is com ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RDBMS
A relational database is a (most commonly digital) database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. A system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relational database systems are equipped with the option of using the SQL (Structured Query Language) for querying and maintaining the database. History The term "relational database" was first defined by E. F. Codd at IBM in 1970. Codd introduced the term in his research paper "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks". In this paper and later papers, he defined what he meant by "relational". One well-known definition of what constitutes a relational database system is composed of Codd's 12 rules. However, no commercial implementations of the relational model conform to all of Codd's rules, so the term has gradually come to describe a broader class of database systems, which at a minimum: # Present the data to the user as relatio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Foreign Key
A foreign key is a set of attributes in a table that refers to the primary key of another table. The foreign key links these two tables. Another way to put it: In the context of relational databases, a foreign key is a set of attributes subject to a certain kind of inclusion dependency constraints, specifically a constraint that the tuples consisting of the foreign key attributes in one relation, R, must also exist in some other (not necessarily distinct) relation, S, and furthermore that those attributes must also be a candidate key in S. In simpler words, a foreign key is a set of attributes that ''references'' a candidate key. For example, a table called TEAM may have an attribute, MEMBER_NAME, which is a foreign key referencing a candidate key, PERSON_NAME, in the PERSON table. Since MEMBER_NAME is a foreign key, any value existing as the name of a member in TEAM must also exist as a person's name in the PERSON table; in other words, every member of a TEAM is also a PERSON. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |