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SQL•SQL Database

SQL PRIMARY KEY Constraint

Overview

The PRIMARY KEY

constraint uniquely identifies each record in a database table.

A Primary Key

constraint ensures unique values, and cannot contain NULL values (it is a combination of both a UNIQUE constraint and a NOT NULL constraint). A table can have only ONE PRIMARY KEY constraint. The primary key can either be a single column, or a combination of columns.

Tip:

The primary key is the target for

Foreign Key

constraints in other tables (which enforces referential integrity between data in two tables).

PRIMARY KEY on CREATE TABLE

The following SQL creates a PRIMARY KEY

on the "ID" column upon creation of the "Persons" table:

CREATE TABLE Persons

( ID int PRIMARY KEY, LastName varchar(255) NOT NULL, FirstName varchar(255),

Age int

);

PRIMARY KEY on Multiple Columns

To define an un-named

Primary Key

constraint on multiple columns, use the following SQL syntax:

CREATE TABLE Persons

( ID int, LastName varchar(255), FirstName varchar(255), Age int, PRIMARY KEY (ID, LastName)

);

Note:

In the example above, the PRIMARY KEY

Formula

value is made up of two columns (ID + LastName).

To define a named

Primary Key

constraint on multiple columns, use the following SQL syntax:

CREATE TABLE Persons

( ID int, LastName varchar(255), FirstName varchar(255), Age int, CONSTRAINT PK_Person PRIMARY KEY (ID, LastName)

);

Note:

In the example above, the PRIMARY KEY

Formula

is named "PK_Person", and the value is made up of two columns (ID + LastName).

PRIMARY KEY on ALTER TABLE

To create a PRIMARY KEY

constraint on the "ID" column when the table already has been created, use the following SQL:

ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD PRIMARY KEY (ID);

PRIMARY KEY on Multiple Columns

To define a named

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SQL UNIQUE Constraint

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SQL FOREIGN KEY Constraint