A foreign key (FK) is a column or combination of columns that is used to establish and enforce a link between the data in two tables. You can create a foreign key by defining a FOREIGN KEY constraint when you create or modify a table.
In a foreign key reference, a link is created between two tables when the column or columns that hold the primary key value for one 
table are referenced by the column or columns in another 
table. This column becomes a foreign key in the second table.
For example, the 
Sales.SalesOrderHeader table in the 
AdventureWorks database has a link to the 
Sales.SalesPerson table because there is a logical relationship between sales orders and salespeople. The 
SalesPersonID column in the 
SalesOrderHeader table matches the primary key column of the 
SalesPerson table. The 
SalesPersonID column in the 
SalesOrderHeader table is the foreign key to the 
SalesPerson table.
A FOREIGN KEY constraint does not have to be linked only to a 
PRIMARY KEY constraint in another table; it can also be defined to reference the columns of a UNIQUE constraint in another table. A FOREIGN KEY 
constraint can contain null values; however, if any column of a composite FOREIGN KEY
 constraint contains null values, verification of all values that make up the FOREIGN KEY constraint is skipped. To make sure that all values of a composite FOREIGN KEY constraint are verified, specify NOT NULL on all the participating columns.
from : technet.microsoft.com
 
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