Referential Integrity (ComparePro)

Referential integrity is the defined relationships between tables when records are added or deleted. Referential integrity is based on foreign key to primary key or unique key relationships. Referential integrity ensures that key values are consistent. This consistency requires that all references link to valid values and, if a key value changes, all references to it change consistently throughout the database.

When referential integrity is enforced, the database ensures:

• All records added to related tables contain a reference to an associated record in the primary table.
• Before changing values in a primary table, the user must make any necessary changes to related tables.
• Before deleting records from a primary table, the corresponding records are removed from any related tables.