one-to-many relationship

A single record in one table (parent table) can have many related records in another table (child table).

one-to-one relationship

A single record in one table (the primary or parent table) can only have one related record in the second table (child table). To achieve a one-to-one relationship, both the primary key and foreign key of the relationship must be uniquely indexed. Although the parent record is required, business rules will determine if the child record is required.

open database connectivity (ODBC)

A standard interface (API method) for connecting to other database platforms independent of the programming languages, database systems, and operating systems involved.

operational table

See transactional table.

orphaned record

A child record that does not have an associated parent record.