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Check constraints are used to ensure the validity of data in a database and to provide data integrity. If they are used at the database level, applications that use the database will not be able to add invalid data or modify valid data so the data becomes invalid, even if the application itself accepts invalid data.
Data integrity is normally enforced in a database system by a series of integrity constraints or rules. Three types of integrity constraints are an inherent part of the relational data model: entity integrity, referential integrity and domain integrity. Entity integrity concerns the concept of a primary key. Entity integrity is an integrity ...
In database systems, consistency (or correctness) refers to the requirement that any given database transaction must change affected data only in allowed ways. Any data written to the database must be valid according to all defined rules, including constraints, cascades, triggers, and any combination thereof. This does not guarantee correctness ...
For instance, a constraint can restrict a given integer attribute to values between 1 and 10. Constraints provide one method of implementing business rules in the database and support subsequent data use within the application layer. SQL implements constraint functionality in the form of check constraints.
Database normalization is the process of structuring a relational database in accordance with a series of so-called normal forms in order to reduce data redundancy and improve data integrity. It was first proposed by British computer scientist Edgar F. Codd as part of his relational model .
This check is essential for programs that use file handling. Format check Checks that the data is in a specified format (template), e.g., dates have to be in the format YYYY-MM-DD. Regular expressions may be used for this kind of validation. Presence check Checks that data is present, e.g., customers may be required to have an email address ...
An example of a database that has not enforced referential integrity. In this example, there is a foreign key (artist_id) value in the album table that references a non-existent artist — in other words there is a foreign key value with no corresponding primary key value in the referenced table.
The database schema is the structure of a database described in a formal language supported typically by a relational database management system (RDBMS). The term " schema " refers to the organization of data as a blueprint of how the database is constructed (divided into database tables in the case of relational databases ).