---
# System prepended metadata

title: Types of Attributes | DBMS
tags: [Database]

---

# Types of Attributes | DBMS
###### tags: `Database`

- Simple Attributes
- Composite Attributes
- Single Valued Attributes
- Multi-Valued Attributes
- Derived Attributes

### Simple Attributes
Simple attributes in an ER model diagram are independent attributes that can't be classified further and also, can't be subdivided into any other component. These attributes are also known as atomic attributes.

### Composite Attributes
Composite attributes have opposite functionality to that of simple attributes as we can further subdivide composite attributes into different components or sub-parts that form simple attributes. In simple terms, composite attributes are composed of one or more simple attributes.

### Single-Valued Attributes
Single valued attributes are those attributes that consist of a single value for each entity instance and can't store more than one value. The value of these single-valued attributes always remains the same, just like the name of a person.

### Multi-Valued Attributes

Multi-valued attributes have opposite functionality to that of single-valued attributes, and as the name suggests, multi-valued attributes can take up and store more than one value at a time for an entity instance from a set of possible values. These attributes are represented by co-centric elliptical shape, and we can also use curly braces { } to represent multi-valued attributes inside it.

### Derived Attributes
Derived attributes are those attributes whose values can be derived from the values of other attributes. They are always dependent upon other attributes for their value. E.j. Age attribute, which changes every year, and can easily calculate from his/her date of birth value.

## References
SCALAR Topics, Types of Attributes in DBMS
https://www.scaler.com/topics/types-of-attributes-in-dbms/