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Referential integrity

Learn referential integrity with FOREIGN KEY.

Referential integrity

Referential integrity ensures a foreign key points to a row in another table.

CREATE TABLE orders (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  customer_id INT,
  FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id)
);

Orders.customer_id → customers.id.

The table orders is created.

Referential integrity — details

A foreign key cannot point to a non-existent value. Deletes or updates can be restricted.

For example, if an order is inserted with a customer_id that doesn't exist in customers, the FOREIGN KEY stops it with an error.

Practice Referential integrity

Add a FOREIGN KEY on customer_id in orders.

Starter code

query.sql
-- referential integrity
ALTER TABLE orders

Sample solution

query.sql
ALTER TABLE orders
ADD CONSTRAINT fk_customer
FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id)

Expected output

Tablo güncellendi

Questions and answers

Review the lesson questions together with their answers. To test yourself, solve the lesson interactively.

1 Referential integrity: match the terms

Term Meaning
referential reference
FOREIGN KEY foreign key
REFERENCES references
orphan orphan row

2 FOREIGN KEY

Question 
CONSTRAINT fk_customer ____ (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id)
Answer 
CONSTRAINT fk_customer FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers(id)

Explanation: FOREIGN KEY is the right answer.

3 What does a foreign key ensure?

  • Speed
  • Sorting
  • Referential integrity Correct answer
  • Compression

Explanation: A foreign key ensures referential integrity.

All lessons in Intermediate

1 INNER JOIN in depth

  1. INNER JOIN logic
  2. Choosing the join column
  3. Three-table INNER JOIN
  4. Self JOIN
  5. Filtering joins
  6. Summary - INNER JOIN

2 LEFT and RIGHT JOIN

  1. LEFT JOIN
  2. RIGHT JOIN
  3. Unmatched rows
  4. JOINs with NULL
  5. LEFT vs RIGHT
  6. Summary - LEFT and RIGHT JOIN

3 FULL and CROSS JOIN

  1. FULL OUTER JOIN
  2. CROSS JOIN
  3. When to CROSS JOIN
  4. Comma JOIN
  5. Choosing a JOIN type
  6. Summary - FULL and CROSS JOIN

4 Project: Library database

  1. Library design
  2. Books and authors
  3. List loans with LEFT JOIN
  4. Find overdue loans
  5. Member summary

5 GROUP BY

  1. What is GROUP BY?
  2. Single-column grouping
  3. Multi-column grouping
  4. GROUP BY with aggregates
  5. Ordering grouped results
  6. Summary - GROUP BY

6 HAVING

  1. What is HAVING?
  2. HAVING vs WHERE
  3. HAVING with aggregates
  4. Multiple conditions
  5. HAVING with aliases
  6. Summary - HAVING

7 Aggregate functions

  1. COUNT
  2. SUM
  3. AVG
  4. MIN and MAX
  5. NULL and aggregates
  6. Summary - Aggregates

8 Project: Sales report

  1. Sales design
  2. Daily revenue
  3. Best sellers
  4. Customer segments
  5. Low performers

9 Subquery

  1. What is a subquery?
  2. Scalar subquery
  3. Subquery with IN
  4. ANY and ALL
  5. Correlated subquery
  6. Summary - Subquery

10 EXISTS

  1. What is EXISTS?
  2. NOT EXISTS
  3. EXISTS vs IN
  4. EXISTS performance
  5. Multiple EXISTS
  6. Summary - EXISTS

11 UNION and INTERSECT

  1. UNION
  2. UNION ALL
  3. INTERSECT
  4. EXCEPT
  5. Set rules
  6. Summary - UNION and INTERSECT

12 CASE

  1. What is CASE?
  2. Searched CASE
  3. Simple CASE
  4. The ELSE branch
  5. CASE with aggregates
  6. Summary - CASE

13 VIEW

  1. What is a VIEW?
  2. CREATE VIEW
  3. Querying a VIEW
  4. DROP VIEW
  5. Updatable VIEWs
  6. Summary - VIEW

14 INDEX basics

  1. What is an INDEX?
  2. CREATE INDEX
  3. Composite INDEX
  4. DROP INDEX
  5. When to index
  6. Summary - INDEX

15 Project: Blog database

  1. Blog design
  2. Post list
  3. Tag search
  4. Author stats
  5. Search index

16 Normalization

  1. What is normalization?
  2. First normal form
  3. Second normal form
  4. Third normal form
  5. BCNF
  6. Summary - Normalization

17 Data integrity

  1. What is integrity?
  2. Entity integrity
  3. Referential integrity
  4. Domain integrity
  5. Integrity with triggers
  6. Summary - Data integrity

18 Transaction basics

  1. What is a transaction?
  2. BEGIN and COMMIT
  3. ROLLBACK
  4. SAVEPOINT
  5. ACID
  6. Summary - Transaction

19 ALTER and DROP

  1. ALTER TABLE
  2. Adding a column
  3. Dropping a column
  4. Changing a column type
  5. DROP TABLE
  6. Summary - ALTER and DROP

20 Intermediate final

  1. Multi-JOIN report
  2. Aggregate analysis
  3. Subquery challenge
  4. Transaction scenario