relazionale

Relazionale is an Italian adjective meaning pertaining to relations. In information technology, the term denotes approaches that organize data into relations, primarily the relational model introduced by E. F. Codd in 1970 and the databases built on it (database relazionale).

In the relational model, data are stored in relations or tables, composed of rows (tuples) and columns (attributes). A schema defines the structure. Keys ensure identity and integrity: primary key, candidate keys, foreign keys for referential integrity. Normalization organizes data to minimize redundancy across tables.

Querying relational data is typically done using SQL, which implements relational algebra operations such as select, project, join. Transactional properties are governed by ACID: atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability. RDBMS providers include Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server; standards are maintained by ISO/IEC SQL.

In mathematics, relation refers to a subset of a Cartesian product, with properties like reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity; relational models inform logic and set theory, and in linguistics or philosophy, relations express predicates between entities.

Today the relational paradigm remains foundational in data management, though non-relational or NoSQL models have emerged for certain scalability or schema flexibility needs. The term relazionale is common in Italian technical literature, education, and software development to describe databases, data modeling, and query processing that follow the relational approach.