A candidate key is ________.
A) never a primary key
B) a combination of two or more attributes
C) is always automatically generated by the DBMS
D) a candidate to be the primary key
E) None of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A candidate key is a set of attributes that can uniquely identify a tuple in a relation. It is a candidate to be the primary key, but it may not necessarily be the primary key if there are other factors to consider, such as efficiency or data constraints. Option A is not correct because a candidate key can become a primary key. Option B is partially correct as it can be a combination of one or more attributes, but not necessarily two. Option C is not correct as the DBMS does not automatically generate candidate keys - they must be identified by the database designer.

A Candidate Key Is ________