Database Management
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Optional attributes[]

A required attribute is an attribute that must have a value in it, while an optional attribute may not have a value in it and can be left blank. The reasoning for making an attribute required is to ensure that data are collected for that particular characteristic.

Example: Consider the entity Student abovestud_LastName and studFirstName would be required attributes as it uniquely defines that table and we assume all students have a first and last name. Optional attributes in the table Student could be stu_MiddleName, stu_Email, and stu_Phone since some students may not have a middle name, a phone number, or an email address

Keys and non-keys Attributes[]

In every entity an attribute or grouped attributes uniquely identify that entity. These attributes are the key attributes and range from Primary key (single attribute identifier) to a Composite Key (Multi attribute Identifier). The rest of the attributes after the identifier are considered the non-key attributes or descriptors, which just describe the entity.

Example: Above in the table Student there is only one unique identifier, stu_LastName, which is the primary key of the table. The rest of the attributes are descriptors.

Simple and Composite Attributes[]

Attributes can be classified as having many parts to them or just a single unbreakable attribute. The composite attribute is an attribute that can be subdivided into other single attributes with meanings of their own. A simple attribute is just an attribute that cannot be subdivided into parts.

Example: Imagine from the entity Student that instead of having the three attributes: stu_LastName, stu_MiddleName, stu_FirstName it had one attribute called stu_Name. The attribute stu_Name would be considered a composite attribute since it can be subdivided into the other three attributes: stu_LastName, stu_MiddleName, stu_FirstName. The rest of attributes would be consider single attributes since they can't be subdivided into parts.

Single-valued and multi-valued Attributes[]

Attributes can be classified as single or multi-value. The single-value attribute can only have one value, while the multi-valued attributes usually can store multiple data in them.

Example: In the entity Student, stu_Address could be considered a multi-value attribute since a student could have multiple addresses where he lives at. An example of a single-value attribute would be stu_LastName since a student usually has josiose last name that uniquely identifies him/her.

Derived Attributes[]

The last category that attributes can be defined is called a derived attribute, where one attribute is calculated from another attribute. The derived attribute may not be stored in the database but rather calculated using algorithm.

Example: In the entity Student, stu_Age would be considered a derived attribute since it could be calculated using the student's date of birth with the current date to find their age.

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