Syllabus Detail
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Referential, domain, and entity integrity 11 ATAR, 12 GEN, 12 ATAR
What is Data Integrity?
- Data integrity refers to the accuracy and consistency of data over its entire lifecylce
- This is a fundamental concept in Computer Science, as it can make or break an IT system
- The integrity of data is dependant on many factors, including the influence of data duplication and redundancy
- In terms of a database; referential, domain and entity integrity are assessed
Referential Integrity
- Referential integrity states that every foreign key must reference a valid existing value in another table
- This means that for every record in a normalised database, the linking element (the foreign key) must exist in another record
- Both the primary and foreign keys must be the same data type and length
Domain Integrity
- Domain integrity refers to the boundaries that shape the data entered into a database
- This can be as simple placing a limit on the length of the data item and enforcing a specific data type
- Domain integrity ensures organisation and validity in a database structure
Entity Integrity
- Entity integrity is a simple concept that ensures the validity of primary keys
- The concept states that each primary key must not be NULL (meaning it must contain a value of some sort)
- It also states that each primary key must be unique, meaning no primary key value may be the same as another primary key value in the same record
Further Research
- Read more about Data Integrity from Microsoft here
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