Integrity Constraints: Types of Integrity Constraint
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pratibhaIntegrity Constraints: Types of Integrity Constraint
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pratibhaIntegrity Constraints
o Integrity constraints are a set of rules. It is used to maintain the quality of
information.
o Integrity constraints ensure that the data insertion, updating, and other
processes have to be performed in such a way that data integrity is not
affected.
o Thus, integrity constraint is used to guard against accidental damage to the
database.
Types of Integrity Constraint
1. Domain constraints
o Domain constraints can be defined as the definition of a valid set of values for
an attribute.
o The data type of domain includes string, character, integer, time, date,
currency, etc. The value of the attribute must be available in the
corresponding domain.
Example:
2. Entity integrity constraints
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o The entity integrity constraint states that primary key value can't be null.
o This is because the primary key value is used to identify individual rows in
relation and if the primary key has a null value, then we can't identify those
rows.
o A table can contain a null value other than the primary key field.
Example:
3. Referential Integrity Constraints
o A referential integrity constraint is specified between two tables.
o In the Referential integrity constraints, if a foreign key in Table 1 refers to the
Primary Key of Table 2, then every value of the Foreign Key in Table 1 must
be null or be available in Table 2.
Example:
4. Key constraints
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o Keys are the entity set that is used to identify an entity within its entity set
uniquely.
o An entity set can have multiple keys, but out of which one key will be the
primary key. A primary key can contain a unique and null value in the
relational table.
Example:
