DBMS: Foreign Key (Definitions)

"A key column in a table that logically depends on a primary key column in another table. Also, a column (or combination of columns) whose values are required to match a primary key in some other table." (Karen Paulsell et al, "Sybase SQL Server: Performance and Tuning Guide", 1996)

"The column or combination of columns whose values match the primary key (PK) or unique key in the same or another table. A foreign key does not have to be unique. A foreign key is often in a many-to-one relationship with a primary key. Foreign key values should be copies of the primary key values; no value in the foreign key except NULL should ever exist unless the same value exists in the primary key. A foreign key may be NULL; if any part of a composite foreign key is NULL, the entire foreign key must be NULL." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"A type of constraintthat enforces a logical relationshipbetween a row in one table and one or more rows in another table. Often, this is a master-detail relationship, where the primary key value of a row in one table appears in the "foreign key" column of one or more rows in another table." (Bill Pribyl & Steven Feuerstein, "Learning Oracle PL/SQL", 2001)

"A column in a relational database table whose values are drawn from the values of a primary key in another table. In a star-join schema, the components of a composite fact table key are foreign keys with respect to each of the dimension tables." (Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" 2nd Ed., 2002)

"A column or combination of columns whose values match the primary key (PK) or unique key in another table. The foreign key is also called the referencing key in some literature." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"A column (or columns) in a table that draws its values from a primary or unique key column in another table. A foreign key assists in ensuring the data integrity of a table." (Bob Bryla, "Oracle Database Foundations", 2004)

"A column or multiple columns whose values match the Primary Key of another table. Foreign Keys help in the relational process between two entities by connecting the foreign attribute in the child entity to a Primary Key in a parent entity." (Thomas Moore, "EXAM CRAM™ 2: Designing and Implementing Databases with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition", 2005)

"Column or combination of columns whose values are required to match a primary key in some other table." (Sharon Allen & Evan Terry, "Beginning Relational Data Modeling" 2nd Ed., 2005)

"A type of constraint where columns contain copies of primary key values, uniquely identified in parent entities, representing the child or sibling side of what is most commonly a one-to-many relationship." (Gavin Powell, "Beginning Database Design", 2006)

"Attribute or set of attributes that identifies the entity with which another entity is associated." (S. Sumathi & S. Esakkirajan, "Fundamentals of Relational Database Management Systems", 2007)

"Used to maintain relationships between entities. Implemented as a field in a child table that has a corresponding primary key that it references." (Marilyn Miller-White et al, "MCITP Administrator: Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Optimization and Maintenance 70-444", 2007)

"An FK is used to create a relationship between two tables, and typically points to a PK (PRIMARY KEY) in another table. The relationship enforces integrity between the two tables, allowing only entries in the FK table that exist in the PK table, and preventing deletions from the PK table if a related entry exists in the FK table." (Darril Gibson, "MCITP SQL Server 2005 Database Developer All-in-One Exam Guide", 2008)

"Information that establishes a relationship between two tables. By preventing erroneous data modifications, this association helps preserve data integrity." (Robert D. Schneider & Darril Gibson, "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies", 2008)

"One or more columns that are related to values in corresponding columns in another table." (Rod Stephens, "Beginning Database Design Solutions", 2008)

"An attribute (or combination of attributes) in a relation that is the same as the primary key of another relation. A foreign key may be a non-key attribute in its own relation, or it may be part of a concatenated primary key." (Jan L Harrington, "Relational Database Design and Implementation" 3rd Ed., 2009)

"The column or combination of columns whose values match the primary key (PK) or unique key in the same or another table." (Jim Joseph, "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Unleashed", 2009)

"An attribute in a relational table used for establishing the direct relationship with another table, known as the parent table. The values for the foreign key attribute are drawn from the primary key values of the parent table." (Paulraj Ponniah, "Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals", 2010)

"Any attribute in a SQL table (key or nonkey) that is taken from the same domain of values as the primary key in another SQL table and can be used to join the two tables (without loss of data integrity) as part of a SQL query." (Toby J Teorey, ", Database Modeling and Design" 4th Ed., 2010)

"1.An attribute (or attributes) in a relational table which is from the same domain as the identifier of the same or another table; can be thought of as a logical pointer from the “referencing” entity table (with the foreign key) to the “referenced” entity table (with the identifier). It is used to represent a many-to-one relationship between the referencing and referenced tables. It is not necessary for a foreign key to have a value; that is determined by the independently defined dependency characteristic. 2.The preferred primary key of a parent data subject that is placed in a subordinate data subject to identify the relevant parent data occurrence in that parent data subject." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Field whose purpose is to link two or more tables together." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"A key in a database table that comes from another table (also know as the "referenced table") and whose values match the primary key (PK) or unique key in the referenced table." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"An attribute or set of attributes that identify relationships between entity occurrences." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"One or more attributes that are included in one entity for the purpose of identifying another." (James Robertson et al, "Complete Systems Analysis: The Workbook, the Textbook, the Answers", 2013)

"An attribute used for distinguishing a record that participates in a relationship with another table" (Daniel Linstedt & W H Inmon, "Data Architecture: A Primer for the Data Scientist", 2014)

"A field that has a relationship to the primary key field in another table." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"An attribute of one table that is related to the primary key of another table." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"In a relational database, a set of one or more fields in one table with values that uniquely define a record in another table. The table containing the foreign key is the child table, and the table that contains the uniquely identified record is the parent table." (Rod Stephens, "Beginning Software Engineering", 2015)

"A column or set of columns that refers to a parent key. In a relational database, a key in one table that references the primary key in another table. See also constraint, primary key, unique key." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)