In databases, what is a one-to-many relationship?

Identifying Database Table Relationships

One of the huge advantages of a relational database is that, once you have your data held in clearly defined, compact tables, you can connect or relate the data held in different tables. There are three types of relationships between the data you are likely to encounter at this stage in the design: one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. To be able to identify these relationships, you need to examine the data and have an understanding of what business rules apply to the data and tables. If you're not sure, it can be helpful to meet with someone who does have a thorough knowledge of the data.

When analyzing table relationships, you need to look at the relationship from both sides (sounds a little like marriage counseling, doesn't it?). When creating table relationships you always work with two tables at a time. One table is called the primary or parent table and the other is the related or child table.

One-To-One Relationship

A one-to-one (1:1) relationship means that each record in Table A relates to one, and only one, record in Table B, and each record in Table B relates to one, and only one, record in Table A. Look at the following example of tables from a company's Employees database:

PERSONAL
EmployeeIDFirstNameLastNameAddressCityStateZip
EN1-10 Carol Schaaf 2306 Palisade Ave. Union City NJ 07087
EN1-12 Gayle Murray 1855 Broadway New York NY 12390
EN1-15 Steve Baranco 742 Forrest St. Kearny NJ 07032
EN1-16 Kristine Racich 416 Bloomfield St. Hoboken NJ 07030
EN1-19 Barbara Zumbo 24 Central Ave. Ritchfield Park NJ 07660
EN1-20 Daniel Gordon 2 Angelique St. Weehawken NJ 07087
EN1-22 Jacqueline Rivet 3600 Bergeline Ave. Union City NJ 07087
EN1-23 Betsy Rosyln 1800 Boulevard East Weehawken NJ 07086
EN1-25 Will Strick 2100 91st St. North Bergen NJ 07047
EN1-26 Susan Shipe 240 Fifth Ave. New York NY 10018
PAYROLL
EmployeeIDPayRate
EN1-10 $25.00
EN1-12 $27.50
EN1-15 $20.00
EN1-16 $19.00
EN1-19 $22.75
EN1-20 $23.00
EN1-22 $22.50
EN1-23 $19.50
EN1-25 $12.50
EN1-26 $14.00

Above, tables with a one-to-one relationship from a database of information about employees

Each record in the Personal table is about one employee. That record relates to one, and only one, record in the Payroll table. Each record in the Payroll table relates to one, and only one, record in the Personal table. (This is what looking at it from both directions means.)

In a one-to-one relationship, either table can be considered to be the primary or parent table.

One-To-Many Relationship

A one-to-many (1:N) relationship means a record in Table A can relate to zero, one, or many records in Table B. Many records in Table B can relate to one record in Table A. The potential relationship is what's important; for a single record in Table A, there might be no related records in Table B, or there might be only one related record, but there could be many. Look at the following tables about a company's Customers and Orders.

CUSTOMERS
CustomerIDCustomerNameAddressCityStateZip
20151 Engel's Books 19 International Dr Ryebrook NY 10273-9764
20493 Jamison Books 396 Apache Ave Fountain Valley CA 92708-4982
20512 Gardening Galore 79 Gessner Pk Houston TX 77024-6261
20688 Books Abound 51 Ulster St Denver CO 80237-3386
20784 Book World 687 Mountain Rd Stowe VT 08276-3196
20926 The Corner Booksotre 36 N.Miller Ave Syracuse NY 13206-4976
20932 Allendale Books 512 Columbia Rd Someville NJ 08876-2987
21570 In Between the Covers 2008 Delta Ave Cincinnati OH 45208-4468
21587 Books and Beyond 51 Windsor St Cambridge MA 02139-2123
21965 Cover to Cover 12 Harbor St Burlington VT 04982-2977
ORDERS
OrderNumCustomerIDOrderDateShipDateShipper
76654 20151 2/1/00 2/6/00 USPS
74432 20151 6/30/99 7/2/99 Federal Express
75987 20151 11/10/99 11/12/99 UPS
62922 20493 9/5/99 9/6/99 UPS
65745 20493 10/1/99 10/3/99 USPS
72212 20493 4/22/00 4/25/00 UPS
73547 20493 8/17/99 8/20/99 UPS
69211 21570 5/12/99 5/12/99 Federal Express
70343 21587 10/2/00 10/4/00 UPS
72833 21587 12/14/99 12/17/99 UPS

Above, tables with data about customers and orders that have a one-to-many relationship

The Customers table holds a unique record for each customer. Each customer can (and, we hope, does) place many orders. Many records in the Orders table can relate to only one record in the Customers table. This is a one-to-many relationship (1:N) between the Customers table and the Orders table.

In a one-to-many relationship, the table on the one side of the relationship is the primary table and the table on the many side is the related table.

A one-to-many relationship is the most common relationship found between tables in a relational database. The following is an example of a form used in a database to display the data from two tables with a one-to-many relationship.

In databases, what is a one-to-many relationship?

A form displaying data from tables with a one-to-many relationship

Many-To-Many Relationship

Examine the sample data below. These tables hold data about employees and the projects to which they are assigned. Each project can involve more than one employee and each employee can be working on more than one project (the "do more with less" thing). This constitutes a many-to-many (N:N) relationship.

EMPLOYEES
EmployeeIDLast NameFirst NameProjectNum
EN1-26 O'Brien Sean 30-452-T3
EN1-26 O'Brien Sean 30-457-T3
EN1-26 O'Brien Sean 31-124-T3
EN1-33 Guya Amy 30-452-T3
EN1-33 Guya Amy 30-482-TC
EN1-33 Guya Amy 31-124-T3
EN1-35 Baranco Steven 30-452-T3
EN1-35 Baranco Steven 31-238-TC
EN1-36 Roslyn Elizabeth 35-152-TC
EN1-38 Schaaf Carol 36-272-TC
EN1-40 Wing Alexandra 31-238-TC
EN1-40 Wing Alexandra 31-241-TC
PROJECTS
ProjectNum ProjectTitleEmployeeID
30-452-T3 Woodworking Around The House EN1-26
30-452-T3 Woodworking Around The House EN1-33
30-452-T3 Woodworking Around The House EN1-35
30-457-T3 Basic Home Electronics EN1-26
30-482-TC The Complete American Auto Repair Guide EN1-33
31-124-T3 The Sport Of Hang Gliding EN1-26
31-124-T3 The Sport Of Hang Gliding EN1-33
31-238-TC The Complete Baseball Reference EN1-35
31-238-TC The Complete Baseball Reference EN1-35
31-241-TC Improving Your Tennis Game EN1-40
35-152-TC Managing Your Personal Finances EN1-36
36-272-TC Using Electronic Mail Effectively EN1-38

Above, tables with a many-to-many relationship

Most RDBMSs do not support many-to-many relationships.

You'll see how to manage this type of database relationship in the Many-To-Many Relationships article.

What is one

Example. If the two entity types are 'Customer' and 'Account,' each 'Customer' can have many 'Accounts,' but each 'Account' can only be owned by one 'Customer. ' In this case, we can say that each customer is linked to a number of accounts. As a result, the relationship is one-to-many.

What is a one

One-to-one: A record in one table is related to one record in another table. One-to-many: A record in one table is related to many records in another table. Many-to-many: Multiple records in one table are related to multiple records in another table.

What are the examples of one

Some common examples of one-to-many relationships are: A car maker makes many different models, but a particular car model is built only by a single car maker. One customer may make several purchases, but each purchase is made by a single customer.

What is the difference between 1 to 1 and 1 to many relationship?

One-to-one relationships associate one record in one table with a single record in the other table. One-to-many relationships associate one record in one table with many records in the other table. Save this answer.