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A key is a special case of a FD

Remember the definition of a FD:

A functional dependency XY holds in relation R if for two different rows, r, s: r[X]s[X] or r[Y] = s[Y].

Key

  • A key uniquely identifies a row in a table.

  • I.e., For two different rows, r and s: r[key] != s[key].

  • The condition of an FD is satisfied.

  • So we have a FD from the key to every non-key column of the table.

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