Relatedid

Relatedid is a field used in data models to store the identifier of another record to which the current record is related. It is commonly used as a foreign key or pointer in relational databases, but the concept also appears in document stores and APIs. The exact naming and type vary by system, but the role remains to connect entities.

In relational databases, relatedid acts as a foreign key referencing a primary key in another table. This enables one-to-many or one-to-one relationships and can be enforced with referential integrity constraints. In document databases or JSON APIs, relatedid is a simple field containing the related record's key, which clients use to fetch or join data.

Naming and types: the field may be named related_id, relatedId, or relatedid depending on conventions. The data type matches the linked record's primary key, such as integer identifiers, UUIDs, or strings. It is often indexed to improve join or lookup performance.

Considerations: when using relatedid, ensure consistent data integrity, handle null values for optional relationships, and define appropriate cascading behavior on updates or deletes. Be mindful of security and privacy when exposing identifiers in public APIs, and consider how to migrate schemas that replace or rename relatedid fields.

See also: foreign key, primary key, referential integrity, ORM.