What characterizes a relational database?

A relational database is characterized by its structure, which consists of related tables. In a relational database, data is organized into tables that can establish relationships with one another through the use of keys—specifically primary keys and foreign keys. This design allows for efficient data retrieval and manipulation, enabling complex queries that can combine data from multiple tables while maintaining data integrity and consistency.

The use of organized tables allows relational databases to enforce rules of normalization, which helps reduce data redundancy and maintain data integrity. Each table represents an entity (like users or products) and consists of rows (records) and columns (attributes), capturing structured data clearly and logically.

This structured approach is the main feature that distinguishes relational databases from other database types, such as flat-file databases, which may have a linear data organization and lack the ability to establish relationships between different data sets.