Types of Attributes
There are different types of attributes as discussed below-
- Simple Attribute
- Composite Attribute
- Single-Valued Attribute
- Multi-Valued Attribute
- Derived Attribute
- Complex Attribute
- Stored Attribute
- Key Attribute
- Null Attribute
- Descriptive Attribute
Let’s discuss each one by one:
Types of Attributes in ER Model
In a Database Management System (DBMS), an attribute is a property or characteristic of an entity that is used to describe an entity. Essentially, it is a column in a table that holds data values. An entity may contain any number of attributes. One of the attributes is considered as the primary key. In an Entity-Relation model, attributes are represented in an elliptical shape.
Example: Student has attributes like name, age, roll number, and many more. To uniquely identify the student, we use the primary key as a roll number as it is not repeated. Attributes can also be subdivided into another set of attributes. Attributes help define and organize the data, making it easier to retrieve and manipulate information within the database. In this article, we are going to discuss about different types of attributes in detail.