Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Databases

Chapter 7. The Basics of Referential Integrity

CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS:

• What Is Referential Integrity?

• Why Maintaining Referential Integrity Is Important

• How Referential Integrity Works

• What You Have Learned

The last chapter introduced you to the concept of data validation. In review, data validation whether at the field or row level, is concerned with ensuring only valid data is saved in the database. Data validation is concerned with the table in which the rules are defined. In other words, Client Table validation rules are concerned only with the impact new data may have on the Client table. The impact that new client data may have on the Contacts table is beyond the scope of validation rules. Where validation rules are concerned with intratable ...