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Difference between Primary key and Unique key

Ankit_Bisht

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Prerequisite – Keys in Relational Model

Keys have a crucial role in Relational Algebra in DBMS. There are several types of
Keys like Primary Key, Candidate Key, Super Key, Foreign Key, Unique Key,
Alternate Key, etc. In this article, basically, we are going to see the Primary Key,
Unique Key, and Key Differences between them.

Primary Key
A primary key is a column of a table that uniquely identifies each tuple (row) in that
table. The primary key enforces integrity constraints to the table. Only one primary
key is allowed to use in a table. The primary key does not accept any duplicate and
NULL values. The primary key value in a table changes very rarely so it is chosen
with care where the changes can occur in a seldom manner. A primary key of one
table can be referenced by the foreign key of another table.

For a better understanding of the primary key, we take a table named Student
table, having attributes such as Roll_number, Name, Batch, Phone_number, and
Citizen_ID.

Primary Key

The roll number attribute can never have an identical and NULL value, because
every student enrolled in a university can have a unique roll number, therefore two
students cannot have the same roll number, and each row in a table is uniquely
identified with the student’s roll number. So, we can make Roll_number attribute as
a primary key in this case.

Features of Primary Key

Some of the essential features of Primary Keys are discussed below.

There will be no duplicate row in case of a Primary Key.

Only a single primary key exists for a table.
Primary Key contains NOT NULL constraints.
The primary Key can be made from one or more table fields.

Unique Key
Unique Key constraints also identify an individual tuple uniquely in a relation or
table. A table can have more than one unique key, unlike a primary key. Unique key
constraints can accept only one NULL value for the column. Unique constraints are
also referenced by the foreign key of another table. It can be used when someone
wants to enforce unique constraints on a column and a group of columns which is
not a primary key.

For a better understanding of the unique key, we take the Student table with
Roll_number, Name, Batch, Phone_number, and Citizen_ID attributes.

Unique Key

Roll number attribute is already assigned with the primary key and Citizen_ID can
have unique constraints where each entry in a Citizen_ID column should be unique
because each citizen of a country must have his or her Unique identification number
like an Aadhaar Number. But if the student is migrated to another country in that
case, he or she would not have any Citizen_ID and the entry could have a NULL
value as only one NULL is allowed in the unique constraint.
Features of Unique Key

Some of the essential features of Unique Keys are discussed below.

There can be more than one unique key for a table.

Unique Keys have the liberty of having NULL values in the column.
Unique Keys can be formed from one or more tables.
Foreign Keys can refer to Unique Keys for referencing.

Differences between Primary Key and Unique Key

Parameters PRIMARY KEY UNIQUE KEY

Used to serve as a unique

Uniquely determines a row
Basic identifier for each row in a
that isn’t the primary key.
table.

NULL value
Cannot accept NULL values. Can accept NULL values.
acceptance

Number of keys that

can be defined in the Only one primary key More than one unique key
table

Creates non-clustered
Index Creates clustered index
index

A unique key does not

A Primary key supports
Auto Increment support auto-increment
auto-increment value.
value.

We cannot change or delete

We can change unique key
Modification values stored in primary
values.
keys.

Uses The primary Key is used for The Unique Key is used for
indicating the rows preventing duplicate
 Parameters PRIMARY KEY UNIQUE KEY

uniquely. entries.

CREATE TABLE House

CREATE TABLE Student
(
(
House_Number INT
Student_Id INT PRIMARY
UNIQUE,
KEY,
Syntax House_Name
Student_name
VARCHAR(150),
VARCHAR(150),
House_Address
roll_number INT(10)
VARCHAR(250)
)
)

Conclusion

The primary key will not accept NULL values whereas the Unique key can accept
NULL values.
A table can have only one primary key whereas there can be multiple unique
keys on a table.
A Clustered index is automatically created when a primary key is defined
whereas a Unique key generates the non-clustered index.
A Primary Key can be a Unique Key, but a Unique Key cannot be a primary key.
Last Updated : 17 May, 2023 100

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Article Contributed By :

Ankit_Bisht
Ankit_Bisht

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Article Tags : DBMS-Relational Algebra, DBMS-SQL, DBMS, Difference Between,

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