Database Fundamentals Assignment - Course Name, University X

This assignment delves into the core concepts of database fundamentals, focusing on the relational model and various key types. The assignment covers the definitions and significance of candidate keys, super keys, primary keys, and foreign keys within the context of database design and implementation. It explores how these keys contribute to the unique identification of data rows and the establishment of relationships between tables. References to relevant academic sources are included to support the concepts discussed, providing a comprehensive understanding of database principles. This assignment is a valuable resource for students studying database systems, offering insights into the practical application of theoretical knowledge.

Running head: DATABASE FUNDAMETALS
DATABASE FUNDAMETALS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

1DATABASE FUNDAMETALS
In relational model there are mainly the five types of relational model keys which are,
candidate keys, super key, alternate key, primary key. Brief detail of these different keys are
provided below;
Candidate Key: The candidate keys can be defined as the minimal set of attributes in a
table that can help in unique identification of data row. It is important to mention that value of
Candidate Keys have to be unique as well as non-null. In a relational model it is possible to have
more than one candidate key.
Super Key: The set of attributes that is capable of uniquely identifying some specific
tuple of a database table is known as Super Key1. Addition of the zero or multiple attributes to
the candidate key set leads to generation of super key. Here it can be stated that a candidate key
is always a super key but a super key may not be candidate key in the database table.
Primary Key in Relational model: In a database table primary key is field that can
identify a row uniquely inside the table2. It is important that primary keys for a table contain
unique values and non- NULL values. A database table can have only a single primary key that
can consist multiple or single fields.
Alternate Key: In a database table candidate key except primary key is denoted as
alternate key in the database.
Foreign Key Foreign keys in a table those attributes /columns that points to primary key
of a different table. These keys are important for linking two related tables.
1 (Kumar, Kunal and Azad 2017)
2 (Al-Othman 2018)

2DATABASE FUNDAMETALS
References
Al-Othman, Abdulwahab. "Database Systems." (2018).
Stefanidis, Christos, and Georgia Koloniari. "An interactive tool for teaching and learning
database normalization." In Proceedings of the 20th Pan-Hellenic Conference on Informatics, pp.
1-4. 2016.