Which term refers to the mechanism that links two tables so information from one can be retrieved based on a shared attribute?

• A. Foreign Key
• B. Join
• C. Relationship
• D. Constraint

Answer: (C)

The linking of two tables through a shared attribute is a relationship. This describes how the tables are connected and how data across them can be related—for example, which rows in one table correspond to rows in another via a common key like CustomerID.

A foreign key is a concrete implementation that enforces that link in one table by pointing to the key in the other table. A join is the operation you perform to retrieve data from both tables by combining rows based on that shared attribute. A constraint is a rule that governs data integrity, not the linkage itself.

So, the term that best describes the mechanism linking the tables is the relationship.