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In relational database management systems, a unique key is a candidate key. 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.
Natural key. A natural key (also known as business key[1] or domain key[2]) 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). [3] In the relational model of data, a natural key is a superkey and is therefore a ...
Primary key. In the relational model of databases, a primary key is a designated attribute (column) that can reliably identify and distinguish between each individual record in a table. The database creator can choose an existing unique attribute or combination of attributes from the table (a natural key) to act as its primary key, or create a ...
Candidate key. A candidate key, or simply a key, of a relational database is any set of columns that have a unique combination of values in each row, with the additional constraint that removing any column could produce duplicate combinations of values. A candidate key is a minimal superkey, [1] i.e., a superkey that doesn't contain a smaller one.
A relational database (RDB[1]) is a database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. [2] A database management system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relational database systems are equipped with the option of using SQL (Structured Query Language ...
Unique identifier. A unique identifier (UID) is an identifier that is guaranteed to be unique among all identifiers used for those objects and for a specific purpose. [1] The concept was formalized early in the development of computer science and information systems. In general, it was associated with an atomic data type.
Hi/Lo algorithm. Hi/Lo is an algorithm and a key generation strategy used for generating unique keys for use in a database as a primary key. It uses a sequence-based hi-lo pattern to generate values. Hi/Lo is used in scenarios where an application needs its entities to have an identity prior to persistence. It is a value generation strategy.
Database index. A database index is a data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table at the cost of additional writes and storage space to maintain the index data structure. Indexes are used to quickly locate data without having to search every row in a database table every time said table is accessed.