Explain the terms primary key, candidate key, alternate key, Database Management System

Assignment Help:

Explain the terms primary key, candidate key, alternate key and secondary key. In the given table identify every key?

STUDENT(SID,Regno, Name, City)

Primary Key: The primary key of a relational table uniquely identify every record in the table. It can either be a general attribute (or set of attributes) which is guaranteed to be unique (such as Social Security Number in a table along with no more than one record per person) or it could be provided through the DBMS (such as a globally unique identifier, or GUID, in Microsoft SQL Server).

Candidate Key: A candidate key is a combination of attributes in which can be uniquely used to recognize a database record without any extraneous data. Each table may have one or more candidate keys. One of these candidate keys is chosen as the table primary key.

Alternate Key: An alternate key (or secondary key) is any candidate key that is not selected to be the primary key (PK).

For instance, a relational database along with a table "employee" could have attributes like

"employee_id", "bank_acct_no", and so on. In this case, both "employee_id" and
"bank_acct_no" serve as unique identifiers for a given employee, and could therefore arguably be used for a primary key. Therefore, both of them are known as "candidate keys". If, for example, "bank_acct_no" was chosen as the primary key, "employee_id" would become the alternate key

Secondary Key: Same as above

In above table SID is a primary key, SID and Regno are candidate keys and SIDor Regno are alternate or secondary key.


Related Discussions:- Explain the terms primary key, candidate key, alternate key

Determine the three views of data, Determine the Three Views of Data We...

Determine the Three Views of Data We know that the similar thing, if viewed from dissimilar angles produces difference sights. Similarly, the database that we have formed alrea

Cartesian product, If R1 and R2 are two relations or functions, then the re...

If R1 and R2 are two relations or functions, then the result of R3 = R1 × R2 is the combination of tuples that are in R1 and R2. The product is associative and commutative. Degr

Data models, After going by the database architecture, let us now dwell on ...

After going by the database architecture, let us now dwell on an important query: how is the data organised in a database? There are a lot of basic structures that exist in a datab

find a non-redundant cover and canonical cove, Given the following set of ...

Given the following set of functional dependencies {cf→ bg, g → d, cdg → f, b → de, d → c} defined on R(b,c,d,e,f,g) a. Is cf→ e implied by the FDs? b. Is dg a superkey?

Explain nonclustered indexes, What is the difference between SQL Server 200...

What is the difference between SQL Server 2000 clustered and nonclustered indexes? With a clustered index, the data are kept in the bottom level of the index and in the similar

Define various ways in which select statement, Define various ways in which...

Define various ways in which SELECT statement can be used for record selection Technology?  SELECT gives you control over a number of aspects for record retrieval: 1) Which

Conflicting operations in schedule, Conflicting Operations in Schedule: ...

Conflicting Operations in Schedule: The three simple ways of interleaved instruction implement of transactions T1 and T2. Please note that in the following tables the first col

What is the use of integrity constraints, What is the use of integrity cons...

What is the use of integrity constraints? Integrity constraints make sure that changes made to the database by authorized users do not result in a loss of data consistency. The

Anomalies, define anomalies and different types of anomalies with example

define anomalies and different types of anomalies with example

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd