Records are documents or pieces of information that are created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or individual in the course of their activities. Records can include a wide range of formats, such as paper documents, electronic files, emails, photographs, and more. Records are typically kept for legal, regulatory, historical, or operational purposes.
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Google Gemini AI
Jul 11
Records in Databases
Definition:
In database terminology, a record is a single row of data within a table. It represents a complete set of related information about a specific entity, object, or event.
Components:
- Fields: Each record consists of one or more fields. Fields represent specific attributes or characteristics of the entity being described. - Field Values: Each field holds a specific value that corresponds to the attribute being represented. - Primary Key: A field or set of fields that uniquely identifies each record within the table.
Characteristics:
- Structure: Records have a predefined structure, determined by the table's schema. - Data Type: The data type of each field defines the type of information it can hold (e.g., text, numbers, dates). - Unique Identifier: The primary key ensures that each record is distinct and can be retrieved efficiently. - Ordering: Records can be organized in a specific order, such as by date or alphabetical sequence.
Example:
Consider a table named "Employees" with the following fields:
- Employee ID - Name - Address - Salary
Each record in the "Employees" table represents an individual employee and contains their unique ID, name, address, and salary.
Additional Notes:
- Records are the basic unit of data storage in a database. - Adding, modifying, or deleting records is done through data manipulation language (DML) operations. - Records can be queried and retrieved based on specific criteria. - The number and size of records in a table can impact database performance and storage requirements.