Foreign Keys vs Joins

Question

Is it better to use foreign keys in tables or can the same results be achieved with joins?

Answer 1

FOREIGN KEYs and JOINs don't do the same thing!

• A FOREIGN KEY enforces data integrity, making sure the data confirms to some rules when it is added to the DB.

• A JOIN is used when you extract/query data from the DB by giving rules how to select the data.

• JOINs work if there are FK or not.

• FK's work if you extract data with or without JOINs.

CONCLUSION: FK and JOIN don't allow you to achieve the same goal!