Editing Column (database) (section)

== Field ==
{{further|Field (computer science)}}
The word 'field' is normally used interchangeably with 'column'.<ref>{{Cite web|title = An introduction to databases|url = http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/manual/node1.html|website = www.ucl.ac.uk|access-date = 2015-11-05}}</ref> However, database perfectionists tend to favor using 'field' to signify a specific cell of a given row. {{citation needed|date=April 2018}} This is to enable accuracy in communicating with other developers. Columns (really column names) being referred to as field names (common for each row/record in the table). Then a field refers to a single storage location in a specific record (like a cell) to store one value (the field value). The terms record and field come from the more practical field of database usage and traditional [[Dbms|DBMS]] system usage (This was linked into business like terms used in manual databases e.g. filing cabinet storage with records for each customer). The terms row and column come from the more theoretical study of relational theory.

Another distinction between the terms 'column' and 'field' is that the term 'column' does not apply to certain databases, for instance [[Key–value database|key-value stores]], that do not conform to the traditional [[relational database]] structure.<ref name="{{Cite news}}...">{{Cite web |last=Drake |first=Mark |date=August 9, 2019 |title=A Comparison of NoSQL Database Management Systems and Models |url=https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/a-comparison-of-nosql-database-management-systems-and-models |access-date=2021-02-26 |website=Digital Ocean |language=en}}</ref>