DBMS: Referential Integrity (Definitions)

"The rules governing data consistency, specifically the relationships among the primary keys and foreign keys of different tables. SQL Server addresses referential integrity with user-defined triggers." (Karen Paulsell et al, "Sybase SQL Server: Performance and Tuning Guide", 1996)

"When a table has relationships with other tables, they are linked on a field (or group of fields). Referential integrity ensures that the copy of the key field kept in one table matches the key field in the other." (Owen Williams, "MCSE TestPrep: SQL Server 6.5 Design and Implementation", 1998)

"An integrity mechanism that ensures that vital data in a database, such as the unique identifier for a given piece of data, remains accurate and usable as the database changes. Referential integrity involves managing corresponding data values between tables when the foreign key of a table contains the same values as the primary key of another table." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"Mandatory condition in a data warehouse where all the keys in the fact tables are legitimate foreign keys relative to the dimension tables. In other words, all the fact key components are subsets of the primary keys found in the dimension tables at all times." (Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, "The Data Warehouse Toolkit 2nd Ed ", 2002)

"A state in which all foreign key values in a database are valid." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"A method employed by a relational database system that enforces one-to-many relationships between tables." (Bob Bryla, "Oracle Database Foundations", 2004)

"A feature of some database systems that ensures that any record stored in the database is supported by accurate primary and foreign keys." (Sharon Allen & Evan Terry, "Beginning Relational Data Modeling" 2nd Ed., 2005)

"The facility of a DBMS to ensure the validity of predefined relationships." (William H Inmon, "Building the Data Warehouse", 2005)

"A process (usually contained within a relational database model) of validation between related primary and foreign key field values. For example, a foreign key value cannot be added to a table unless the related primary key value exists in the parent table. Similarly, deleting a primary key value necessitates removing all records in subsidiary tables, containing that primary key value in foreign key fields. Additionally, it follows that preventing the deletion of a primary key record is not allowed if a foreign key exists elsewhere." (Gavin Powell, "Beginning Database Design", 2006)

"The assurance that a reference from one entity to another entity is valid. If entity A references entity B, entity B exists. If entity B is removed, all references to entity B must also be removed." (Pramod J Sadalage & Scott W Ambler, "Refactoring Databases: Evolutionary Database Design", 2006)

"Relational database integrity that dictates that all foreign key values in a child table must have a corresponding matching primary key value in the parent table." (Marilyn Miller-White et al, "MCITP Administrator: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Optimization and Maintenance 70-444", 2007)

"The referential integrity imposes the constraint that if a foreign key exists in a relation, either the foreign key value must match a candidate key value of some tuple in its home relation or the foreign key value must be wholly null." (S. Sumathi & S. Esakkirajan, "Fundamentals of Relational Database Management Systems", 2007)

"A set of rules, enforced by the database server, the user’s application, or both, that protects the quality and consistency of information stored in the database." (Robert D Schneider & Darril Gibson, "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies", 2008)

"Requires that relationships among tables be consistent. For example, foreign key constraints must be satisfied. You cannot accept a transaction until referential integrity is satisfied." (Rod Stephens, "Beginning Database Design Solutions", 2008)

"A constraint on a relation that states that every non-null foreign key value must match an existing primary key value." (Jan L Harrington, "Relational Database Design and Implementation" 3rd Ed., 2009)

"A constraint in a SQL database that requires, for every foreign key instance that exists in a table, that the row (and thus the primary key instance) of the parent table associated with that foreign key instance must also exist in the database." (Toby J Teorey, ", Database Modeling and Design" 4th Ed, 2010)

"A constraint on a relation that states that every non-null foreign key value must reference an existing primary key value." (Jan L Harrington, "SQL Clearly Explained" 3rd Ed., 2010)

"In a relational database, the quality of a table that all its associations are with real instances of other tables." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"Refers to two relational tables that are directly related. Referential integrity between related tables is established if non-null values in the foreign key field of the child table are primary key values in the parent table." (Paulraj Ponniah, "Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals", 2010)

"A condition by which a dependent table’s foreign key must have either a null entry or a matching entry in the related table. Even though an attribute may not have a corresponding attribute, it is impossible to have an invalid entry." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management" 9th Ed, 2011)

"In data management, constraints that govern the relationship of an occurrence of one entity to one or more occurrences of another entity. These constraints may be automatically enforced by the DBMS. For instance, every purchase order must have one and only one customer. If the relationship is represented using a foreign key, then the foreign key is said to reference a file or entity table where the identifier is from the same domain. Having referential integrity means that IF a value exists in the foreign key of the referencing file, then it must exist as a valid identifier in the referenced file or table." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Through the specification of appropriate referential constraints, RI guarantees that an acceptable value is always in each foreign key column." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"Refers to the accuracy and consistency of records, and the assurance that they are genuine and unaltered." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"The process of relating data together in a disciplined manner" (Daniel Linstedt & W H Inmon, "Data Architecture: A Primer for the Data Scientist", 2014)

"A requirement that the data in related tables be matched, so that an entry in the 'many' side of the relationship (the foreign key) must have a corresponding entry in the “one” side of the relationship (the primary key)." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"Refers to the accuracy and consistency of records, and the assurance that they are genuine and unaltered." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance for Healthcare Professionals", 2018)

"The state of a database in which all values of all foreign keys are valid. Maintaining referential integrity requires the enforcement of a referential constraint on all operations that change the data in a table where the referential constraints are defined." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

"A rule defined on a key in one table that guarantees that the values in that key match the values in a key in a related table (the referenced value)." (Oracle, "Oracle Database Concepts")

"A state in which all foreign key values in a database are valid. For a foreign key to be valid, it must contain either the value NULL, or an existing key value from the primary or unique key columns referenced by the foreign key." (Microsoft Technet)

"The technique of maintaining data always in a consistent format, part of the ACID philosophy. In particular, data in different tables is kept consistent through the use of foreign key constraints, which can prevent changes from happening or automatically propagate those changes to all related tables. Related mechanisms include the unique constraint, which prevents duplicate values from being inserted by mistake, and the NOT NULL constraint, which prevents blank values from being inserted by mistake." (MySQL, "MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual Glossary")