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Foreign Key
A Foreign Key accesses data in some other related table via its Primary Key.
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The nature of Foreign Keys |
A Foreign Key consists of a collection of columns (UML Attributes) that together have some operational meaning (they enforce a relationship to the Primary Key in the other table).
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Modeling |
Foreign keys are modeled in Enterprise Architect as operations with the stereotype FK. The operation's parameters become the columns involved in the key.
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Necessity of Use |
It is not necessary to define a Foreign Key just to access another table through its Primary Key. Foreign Keys are a feature of some database management systems, providing 'extras' such as referential integrity checking that prevents the deletion of a record if its Primary Key value exists in some other table's Foreign Key. The same thing can be achieved programmatically.
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Learning Center topics
• | (Alt+F1) | Database Engineering | Physical Data Model | Add Foreign Key |