-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 95
Expand file tree
/
Copy path11.Minimal
More file actions
17 lines (12 loc) · 1.17 KB
/
Copy path11.Minimal
File metadata and controls
17 lines (12 loc) · 1.17 KB
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
My complete SQL Masterclass Notes in Tanglish is now live! Covers 30+ topics with syntax, examples, and step-by-step explanations.
Perfect for both beginners and professionals to master SQL easily. Check it out here 👉 https://topmate.io/dataengineering/1697791
====================================================================================
In this context, minimal means that the set of columns (attributes) chosen to uniquely identify a row contains no unnecessary parts—if you remove any column from that set,
it would no longer uniquely identify the row.
Breaking It Down with an Example
Imagine a table with columns A, B, and C where:
The combination (A, B, C) uniquely identifies each row.
However, if it turns out that (A, B) alone is enough to uniquely identify each row, then (A, B, C) is not minimal because C is extra.
Thus, the minimal key here is (A, B) since you cannot remove A or B without losing the ability to uniquely identify the row. This minimal set is what we call a candidate key.
One-Line Definition Recap
Minimal (in this context): A set of columns that is just sufficient to uniquely identify a row—removing any column would break this uniqueness.