What is a soft delete and what are its trade-offs?

SQL keys and table design · Freshers and experienced

Model answer

Instead of deleting a row, mark it with a deleted flag or timestamp. It allows recovery and keeps history, but every query must filter the deleted rows, unique constraints need care, and data may need to be removed for privacy rules.

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Keys and Table Design: Why Data Is Split Into Tables in the course SQL for Beginners: Learn Databases Step by Step.

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