**A candidate key made up of multiple fields**
In [[Relational Databases]], a Composite Key (sometimes called "Compound Key") is a [[Candidate Key]] that is comprised of more than 1 attribute.
# Example
Given a table with fields:
- `student_id`
- `first_name`
- `last_name`
- `is_enrolled`
There are two sets of Candidate Keys.
1. `student_id`
2. `first_name`, `last_name`
Since the [[Candidate Key]] `student_id` is comprised of only one attribute, it is NOT a composite key. Also, because `student_id` is not used for things other than record identification, it would be a [[surrogate keys|surrogate key]].
Since the Candidate Key `first_name`, `last_name` is comprised of more than one attribute, it is a Composite Key.
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## Source
[Database normalization - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_normalization)
## Related
- [[Candidate Key]]
- [[Relational Databases]]