Foreign Key

Foreign Key
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Foreign Key
A foreign key is a column or set of columns of data that refer to a primary key in another table (Hughes, 2019). It establishes the relationship between two tables in a relational database. In other words, a foreign key links data in one table to the data in another table. Foreign keys act as a cross-reference between tables because they reference the primary key of another table, thus, linking them (Chen et al., 2014). They are used to ensure referential data integrity by permitting only values that need to appear in the database. To prevent the breakage of the connection between tables, database managers can establish foreign key constraints to stop activities that can destroy the links between tables and prevent erroneous data to the foreign key column (Hughes, 2019). Simply put, the constraints prevent invalid data from being inserted into the fore...