What is meant by database integrity?

Database integrity refers to the accuracy, consistency, and reliability of data in a database. It ensures that the data stored in the database is correct and complies with the defined rules and conditions. Database integrity is ensured through various mechanisms, including constraints, references, transactions, and validations.

Typical functions of software in the "database integrity" domain include:

Constraint management: The ability to define constraints such as primary keys, foreign keys, unique constraints, and check constraints to ensure the integrity of the database.
Referential integrity: Supporting relationships between tables through foreign key constraints to ensure that referential relationships between the data in different tables are maintained.
Transaction processing: Supporting transactions to ensure data consistency and integrity by either fully committing or rolling back changes to the database data.
Automatic checks: The ability to perform automatic checks and validations to ensure that the inserted, updated, or deleted data complies with the defined rules and conditions.
Database maintenance: Performing regular maintenance tasks such as data cleanup, indexing, and updating statistics to improve the integrity and performance of the database.
Logging and monitoring: Logging database activities and monitoring database performance and integrity to detect and address potential issues early on.