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Persistent object identifier

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated April 28, 2024

In database design, a persistent object identifier (POID) is a unique identifier of a record on a table, used as the primary key. Important characteristics of a POID are that it does not carry business information and are not generally exported or otherwise made visible to data users; as such a POID has many of the characteristics of a surrogate key. The only purpose of the POID is to act as the primary key on the table where it is defined and to be referenced as the foreign key by other tables. Because POIDs, like surrogate keys, do not carry business information, they are immune to changes in the form or meaning of business data. It can therefore make it easier to maintain relations between objects and make queries simpler.

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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Persistent object identifier”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Natural key

A natural key is a type of unique key in a database formed of attributes that exist and are used in the external world outside the database (i.e. in the business domain or domain of discourse).

Primary key

In the relational model of databases, a primary key is a designated set of attributes) that can reliably identify and distinguish between each individual record in a table. The database creator can choose an existing unique attribute or combination of attributes from the table (a natural key) to act as its primary key, or create a new attribute containing a unique ID that exists solely for this purpose (a surrogate key).

Surrogate key

A surrogate key in a database is a unique identifier for either an entity in the modeled world or an object in the database. The surrogate key is not derived from application data, unlike a natural (or business) key.