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Definition of a scalar value in a relational database
04 October,2014 by Tom Collins
Question: What is a scalar value in a relational database?
Answer: A scalar value refers to a single value . For example, string number , variable and column. A scalar value is in contrast to a set of values.
In mathematical terms , every point in space is represented as a scalar value.
Establishing the definition of a scalar value leads us onto Scalar Aggregates and Scalar Functions. A single value is returned from these constructs. The MIN() function is an example of a Scalar Aggregate i.e returns one value. GetDate() is a scalar function and returns one value.
Scalar and database design
The concept of scalar extends into database design. Generally, a normalized database will have scalar columns i.e there won’t be multiple values in a column representing different attributes. You wouldn’t place , house number and house color in one column. On a normalized database you’d maintain scalar values by place house number and house color in different columns
Read More on Data Architecture
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Author: Tom Collins (http://www.sqlserver-dba.com)
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