relational database

A method of structuring data as collections of tables that are logically associated to each other by shared attributes. Any data element can be found in a relation by knowing the name of the table, the attribute (column) name, and the value of the primary key. See also relate, relate key, and relational join.

A database that consists of data in simple tables (i.e., rows and columns) and that has no system dependencies (e.g., pointers to other data).