True or false: Clarity OLTP typically uses surrogate keys in traditional 3NF designs.

True or false: Clarity OLTP typically uses surrogate keys in traditional 3NF designs.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Sometimes
• D. Not specified

Answer: (A)

Surrogate keys are artificial identifiers used as the primary keys in tables, separate from any real-world business data. In OLTP systems designed in 3NF, using surrogate keys is common because they stay stable even if business attributes change, reducing update anomalies and keeping foreign keys simple and fixed-length. This stability makes joins and indexing more efficient and keeps referential integrity straightforward across normalized tables. In Clarity OLTP’s traditional 3NF designs, this pattern is typical, so the statement holds true. While some designs might use natural keys in specific cases, they can become long or subject to change, which is less ideal for OLTP normalization.

Surrogate keys are artificial identifiers used as the primary keys in tables, separate from any real-world business data. In OLTP systems designed in 3NF, using surrogate keys is common because they stay stable even if business attributes change, reducing update anomalies and keeping foreign keys simple and fixed-length. This stability makes joins and indexing more efficient and keeps referential integrity straightforward across normalized tables. In Clarity OLTP’s traditional 3NF designs, this pattern is typical, so the statement holds true. While some designs might use natural keys in specific cases, they can become long or subject to change, which is less ideal for OLTP normalization.