3.2.3

Relational Databases

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Relational Database

A relational database is a set of tables whose records are linked by certain fields.

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Relational database

  • A relational database is a set of tables whose records are linked by certain fields.
  • Each table contains data on one entity e.g. students or parents.
  • When you link one table to another, this is known as a relationship.
  • Each table then has a relationship to other tables using primary and foreign keys.
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Foreign key

  • If the primary key of one table is placed into another table, this is then known as a foreign key.
  • For example, when a student ID field is added to a parent table to link you to your parents accounts, that student ID is a primary key in the student table but becomes a foreign key in the family table.
  • The parents table will have its own primary key.
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Secondary key

  • A secondary key may also be kept by the database.
  • A parent may not know their child’s student ID, but they will be able to locate their last name in the database.
  • Secondary keys do not need to be unique.

Jump to other topics

1Components of a Computer

2Software & Software Development

3Exchanging Data

4Data Types, Data Structures & Algorithms

5Legal, Moral, Cultural & Ethical Issues

6Elements of Computational Thinking

6.1Thinking Abstractly

6.2Thinking Ahead

6.3Thinking Procedurally

6.4Thinking Logically

6.5Thinking Concurrently

7Problem Solving & Programming

8Algorithms

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