Viittauskenttä

Viittauskenttä is Finnish for a field that stores a reference to another entity, such as a row in a related data object or an external resource. It acts as a pointer or link that enables relationships and data linking within a system. In many contexts the term describes a mechanism to connect records across data structures or modules.

In relational databases the viittauskenttä corresponds to a foreign key (vierasavain). It holds an identifier that points to a primary key in a related table. This enables referential integrity, allows join operations, and facilitates navigation between related data records. The concept is also used in data modelling to express one-to-many or many-to-many relationships and to encapsulate references in a single field.

In bibliographic, content management, or metadata systems, a viittauskenttä may contain an identifier such as a DOI, ISBN, URL, or another resource locator. It can also hold a user-selected reference to another item, enabling cross-linking and reuse of existing records.

User interfaces implement viittauskenttä as lookup controls: dropdowns, autocomplete fields, or search-assisted selectors that populate the reference by selecting an item from a list or search results. Validation ensures that the referenced record exists and remains consistent with the linked data.

Examples of use include linking a document to its author, a product to its supplier, or a citation to the original source. Related concepts include databases, foreign keys, and data integration.