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In databases, a surrogate key is an artificially created primary key that is used to uniquely identify a record in a table. Surrogate keys are usually integers and have no real-world meaning or value, but are created solely for the purpose of identifying records in a table. |
A surrogate key is often used when a natural key, which is a key that has real-world meaning, cannot be used as a primary key or when a composite key, which is a key made up of two or more columns, becomes too complex or unwieldy. In such cases, a surrogate key is created as a simple, non-composite key that can be easily used to identify records in the table.
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