Related
Does defining the constraint PRIMARY KEY already makes sure that the column values are unique and not null or do you have to define it seperately?
Yes. But one exception is Sqlite.
See https://sqlite.org/lang_createtable.html
Each row in a table with a primary key must have a unique combination of values in its primary key columns. For the purposes of determining the uniqueness of primary key values, NULL values are considered distinct from all other values, including other NULLs. If an INSERT or UPDATE statement attempts to modify the table content so that two or more rows have identical primary key values, that is a constraint violation.
According to the SQL standard, PRIMARY KEY should always imply NOT NULL. Unfortunately, due to a bug in some early versions, this is not the case in SQLite. Unless the column is an INTEGER PRIMARY KEY or the table is a WITHOUT ROWID table or the column is declared NOT NULL, SQLite allows NULL values in a PRIMARY KEY column. SQLite could be fixed to conform to the standard, but doing so might break legacy applications. Hence, it has been decided to merely document the fact that SQLite allows NULLs in most PRIMARY KEY columns.
Is it that a primary key is the selected candidate key chosen for a given table?
Candidate Key – A Candidate Key can be any column or a combination of columns that can qualify as unique key in database. There can be multiple Candidate Keys in one table. Each Candidate Key can qualify as Primary Key.
Primary Key – A Primary Key is a column or a combination of columns that uniquely identify a record. Only one Candidate Key can be Primary Key.
More on this link with example
John Woo's answer is correct, as far as it goes. Here are a few additional points.
A primary key is always one of the candidate keys. Fairly often, it's the only candidate.
A table with no candidate keys does not represent a relation. If you're using the relational model to help you build a good database, then every table you design will have at least one candidate key.
The relational model would be complete without the concept of primary key. It wasn't in the original presentation of the relational model. As a practical matter, the use of foreign key references without a declared primary key leads to a mess. It could be a logically correct mess, but it's a mess nonetheless. Declaring a primary key lets the DBMS help you enforce the data rules. Most of the time, having the DBMS help you enforce the data rules is a good thing, and well worth the cost.
Some database designers and some users have some mental confusion about whether the primary key identifies a row (record) in a table or an instance of an entity in the subject matter that the table represents. In an ideal world, it's supposed to do both, and there should be a one-for-one correspondence between rows in an entity table and instances of the corresponding entity.
In the real world, things get screwed up. Somebody enters the same new employee twice, and the employee ends up with two ids. Somebody gets hired, but the data entry slips through the cracks in some manual process, and the employee doesn't get an id, until the omission is corrected. A database that does not collapse the first time things get screwed up is more robust than one that does.
Primary key -> Any column or set of columns that can uniquely identify a record in the table is a primary key. (There can be only one Primary key in the table)
Candidate key -> Any column or set of columns that are candidate to become primary key are Candidate key. (There can be one or more candidate key(s) in the table, if there is only one candidate key, it can be chosen as Primary key)
A Primary key is a special kind of index in that:
there can be only one;
it cannot be nullable
it must be unique.
Candidate keys are selected from the set of super keys, the only thing we take care while selecting the candidate key is: It should not have any redundant attribute.
Example of an Employee table:
Employee (
Employee ID,
FullName,
SSN,
DeptID
)
Candidate Key: are individual columns in a table that qualifies for the uniqueness of all the rows. Here in Employee table EmployeeID & SSN are Candidate keys.
Primary Key: are the columns you choose to maintain uniqueness in a table. Here in Employee table, you can choose either EmployeeID or SSN columns, EmployeeID is a preferable choice, as SSN is a secure value.
Alternate Key: Candidate column other the Primary column, like if EmployeeID is PK then SSN would be the Alternate key.
Super Key: If you add any other column/attribute to a Primary Key then it becomes a super key, like EmployeeID + FullName, is a Super Key.
Composite Key: If a table does not have a single column that qualifies for a Candidate key, then you have to select 2 or more columns to make a row unique. Like if there is no EmployeeID or SSN columns, then you can make FullName + DateOfBirth as Composite primary Key. But still, there can be a narrow chance of duplicate row.
There is no difference. A primary key is a candidate key. By convention one candidate key in a relation is usually chosen to be the "primary" one but the choice is essentially arbitrary and a matter of convenience for database users/designers/developers. It doesn't make a "primary" key fundamentally any different to any other candidate key.
A table can have so many column which can uniquely identify a row. This columns are referred as candidate keys, but primary key should be one of them because one primary key is enough for a table. So selection of primary key is important among so many candidate key. Thats the main difference.
Think of a table of vehicles with an integer Primary Key.
The registration number would be a candidate key.
In the real world registration numbers are subject change so it depends somewhat on the circumstances what might qualify as a candidate key.
Primary key -> Any column or set of columns that can uniquely identify a record in the table is a primary key. (There can be only one Primary key in the table) and
the candidate key-> the same as Primary key but the Primary Key chosen by DB administrator's prospective for example(the primary key the least candidate key in size)
A primary key is a column (or columns) in a table that uniquely identifies the rows in that table.
CUSTOMERS
CustomerNo FirstName LastName
1 Sally Thompson
2 Sally Henderson
3 Harry Henderson
4 Sandra Wellington
For example, in the table above, CustomerNo is the primary key.
The values placed in primary key columns must be unique for each row: no duplicates can be tolerated. In addition, nulls are not allowed in primary key columns.
So, having told you that it is possible to use one or more columns as a primary key, how do you decide which columns (and how many) to choose?
Well there are times when it is advisable or essential to use multiple columns. However, if you cannot see an immediate reason to use multiple columns, then use one. This isn't an absolute rule, it is simply advice. However, primary keys made up of single columns are generally easier to maintain and faster in operation. This means that if you query the database, you will usually get the answer back faster if the tables have single column primary keys.
Next question — which column should you pick? The easiest way to choose a column as a primary key (and a method that is reasonably commonly employed) is to get the database itself to automatically allocate a unique number to each row.
In a table of employees, clearly any column like FirstName is a poor choice since you cannot control employee's first names. Often there is only one choice for the primary key, as in the case above. However, if there is more than one, these can be described as 'candidate keys' — the name reflects that they are candidates for the responsible job of primary key.
If superkey is a big set than candidate key is some smaller set inside big set and primary key any one element(one at a time or for a table) in candidate key set.
First you have to know what is a determinant?
the determinant is an attribute that used to determine another attribute in the same table.
SO the determinant must be a candidate key. And you can have more than one determinant.
But primary key is used to determine the whole record and you can have only one primary key.
Both primary and candidate key can consist of one or more attributes
I want to know if there are any drawbacks between a referential relation that uses primary key columns versus unique key columns (in SQL Server a foreign key constraint can only reference columns in a primary key or unique index).
Are there differences in how queries are parsed, in specific DB systems (e.g. Microsoft SQL Server 2005), based on whether a foreign key references a primary key versus a unique key?
Note that I'm not asking about the differences between using columns of different datatypes for referential integrity, joins, etc.
Purely as an example, imagine a DB in which there is a 'lookup table' dbo.Offices:
CREATE TABLE dbo.Offices (
ID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) CONSTRAINT PK_Codes PRIMARY KEY,
Code varchar(50) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT UQ_Codes_Code UNIQUE
);
There is also a table dbo.Patients:
CREATE TABLE dbo.Patients (
ID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) CONSTRAINT PK_Patients PRIMARY KEY,
OfficeCode varchar(50) NOT NULL,
...
CONSTRAINT FK_Patients_Offices FOREIGN KEY ( OfficeCode )
REFERENCES dbo.Offices ( Code )
);
What are the drawbacks of the table dbo.Patients and its constraint FK_Patients_Offices as in the T-SQL code above, versus the following alternate version:
CREATE TABLE dbo.Patients (
ID int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1,1) CONSTRAINT PK_Patients PRIMARY KEY,
OfficeID int NOT NULL,
...
CONSTRAINT FK_Patients_Offices FOREIGN KEY ( OfficeID )
REFERENCES dbo.Offices ( ID )
);
Obviously, for the second version of dbo.Patients, the values in the column OfficeID don't need to be updated if changes are made to values in the Code column of dbo.Offices.
Also (obvious) is that using the Code column of dbo.Offices for foreign key references largely defeats the purpose of the surrogate key column ID – this is purely an artifact of the example. [Is there a better example of a table for which foreign key references might reasonably use a non-primary key?]
There is no drawback.
However..
Why do you have an ID column in the Offices table? A surrogate key is used to reduce space and improve performance over, say, a varchar column when used in other tables as a foreign key.
If you are going to use the varchar column for foreign keys, then you don't need a surrogate key.
Most benefits of having the IDENTITY are squandered by using the Code column for FKs.
Why do you think there would be any drawbacks??
Quite the contrary! It's good to see you're enforcing referential integrity as everyone should! No drawbacks - just good practice to do this!
I don't see any functional difference or any problems/issues with referencing a unique index vs. referencing a primary key.
Update: since you're not interested in performance- or datatype-related issues, this last paragraph probably doesn't add any additional value.
The only minor thing I see is that your OfficeCode is both a VARCHAR and thus you might run into issues with collation and/or casing (upper-/lower-case, depending on your collation), and JOIN's on a fairly large (up to 50 bytes) and varying length field are probably not quite as efficient as JOIN conditions based on a small, fixed-length INT column.
A primary key is a candidate key and is not fundamentally different from any other candidate key. It is a widely observed convention that one candidate key per table is designated as a "primary" one and that this is the key used for all foreign key references.
A possible advantage of singling out one key in this way is that you make the use of the key clearer to users of the database: they know which key is the one being referenced without looking in every referencing table. This is entirely optional however. If you find it convenient to do otherwise or if requirements dictate that some other key should be referenced by a foreign key then I suggest you do that.
Assuming you add an index on the code column (which you definitely should as soon as you reference to it), is there anything to be said against getting rid of the entire ID column and using the code column as PK as well?
The most significant one I can think of is that, if they ever renumber the offices, you'll either lose integrity or need to update both tables. However likely that might be.
The performance consequences are vanishingly small unless you have irrationally large office codes, and even then less than you probably expect.
It's not considered a significant determinant of database design for most people.
Big flaw
We were able to enter some value into dbo.Patients.OfficeID that is not there in dbo.Offices.ID
There is no meaning to say that there is a reference.
At work we have a big database with unique indexes instead of primary keys and all works fine.
I'm designing new database for a new project and I have a dilemma:
In DB theory, primary key is fundamental element, that's OK, but in REAL projects what are advantages and disadvantages of both?
What do you use in projects?
EDIT: ...and what about primary keys and replication on MS SQL server?
What is a unique index?
A unique index on a column is an index on that column that also enforces the constraint that you cannot have two equal values in that column in two different rows. Example:
CREATE TABLE table1 (foo int, bar int);
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX ux_table1_foo ON table1(foo); -- Create unique index on foo.
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (1, 2); -- OK
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (2, 2); -- OK
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (3, 1); -- OK
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (1, 4); -- Fails!
Duplicate entry '1' for key 'ux_table1_foo'
The last insert fails because it violates the unique index on column foo when it tries to insert the value 1 into this column for a second time.
In MySQL a unique constraint allows multiple NULLs.
It is possible to make a unique index on mutiple columns.
Primary key versus unique index
Things that are the same:
A primary key implies a unique index.
Things that are different:
A primary key also implies NOT NULL, but a unique index can be nullable.
There can be only one primary key, but there can be multiple unique indexes.
If there is no clustered index defined then the primary key will be the clustered index.
You can see it like this:
A Primary Key IS Unique
A Unique value doesn't have to be the Representaion of the Element
Meaning?; Well a primary key is used to identify the element, if you have a "Person" you would like to have a Personal Identification Number ( SSN or such ) which is Primary to your Person.
On the other hand, the person might have an e-mail which is unique, but doensn't identify the person.
I always have Primary Keys, even in relationship tables ( the mid-table / connection table ) I might have them. Why? Well I like to follow a standard when coding, if the "Person" has an identifier, the Car has an identifier, well, then the Person -> Car should have an identifier as well!
Foreign keys work with unique constraints as well as primary keys. From Books Online:
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
For transactional replication, you need the primary key. From Books Online:
Tables published for transactional
replication must have a primary key.
If a table is in a transactional
replication publication, you cannot
disable any indexes that are
associated with primary key columns.
These indexes are required by
replication. To disable an index, you
must first drop the table from the
publication.
Both answers are for SQL Server 2005.
The choice of when to use a surrogate primary key as opposed to a natural key is tricky. Answers such as, always or never, are rarely useful. I find that it depends on the situation.
As an example, I have the following tables:
CREATE TABLE toll_booths (
id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
...
UNIQUE(name)
)
CREATE TABLE cars (
vin VARCHAR(17) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
license_plate VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,
...
UNIQUE(license_plate)
)
CREATE TABLE drive_through (
id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
toll_booth_id INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES toll_booths(id),
vin VARCHAR(17) NOT NULL REFERENCES cars(vin),
at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP NOT NULL,
amount NUMERIC(10,4) NOT NULL,
...
UNIQUE(toll_booth_id, vin)
)
We have two entity tables (toll_booths and cars) and a transaction table (drive_through). The toll_booth table uses a surrogate key because it has no natural attribute that is not guaranteed to change (the name can easily be changed). The cars table uses a natural primary key because it has a non-changing unique identifier (vin). The drive_through transaction table uses a surrogate key for easy identification, but also has a unique constraint on the attributes that are guaranteed to be unique at the time the record is inserted.
http://database-programmer.blogspot.com has some great articles on this particular subject.
There are no disadvantages of primary keys.
To add just some information to #MrWiggles and #Peter Parker answers, when table doesn't have primary key for example you won't be able to edit data in some applications (they will end up saying sth like cannot edit / delete data without primary key). Postgresql allows multiple NULL values to be in UNIQUE column, PRIMARY KEY doesn't allow NULLs. Also some ORM that generate code may have some problems with tables without primary keys.
UPDATE:
As far as I know it is not possible to replicate tables without primary keys in MSSQL, at least without problems (details).
If something is a primary key, depending on your DB engine, the entire table gets sorted by the primary key. This means that lookups are much faster on the primary key because it doesn't have to do any dereferencing as it has to do with any other kind of index. Besides that, it's just theory.
In addition to what the other answers have said, some databases and systems may require a primary to be present. One situation comes to mind; when using enterprise replication with Informix a PK must be present for a table to participate in replication.
As long as you do not allow NULL for a value, they should be handled the same, but the value NULL is handled differently on databases(AFAIK MS-SQL do not allow more than one(1) NULL value, mySQL and Oracle allow this, if a column is UNIQUE)
So you must define this column NOT NULL UNIQUE INDEX
There is no such thing as a primary key in relational data theory, so your question has to be answered on the practical level.
Unique indexes are not part of the SQL standard. The particular implementation of a DBMS will determine what are the consequences of declaring a unique index.
In Oracle, declaring a primary key will result in a unique index being created on your behalf, so the question is almost moot. I can't tell you about other DBMS products.
I favor declaring a primary key. This has the effect of forbidding NULLs in the key column(s) as well as forbidding duplicates. I also favor declaring REFERENCES constraints to enforce entity integrity. In many cases, declaring an index on the coulmn(s) of a foreign key will speed up joins. This kind of index should in general not be unique.
There are some disadvantages of CLUSTERED INDEXES vs UNIQUE INDEXES.
As already stated, a CLUSTERED INDEX physically orders the data in the table.
This mean that when you have a lot if inserts or deletes on a table containing a clustered index, everytime (well, almost, depending on your fill factor) you change the data, the physical table needs to be updated to stay sorted.
In relative small tables, this is fine, but when getting to tables that have GB's worth of data, and insertrs/deletes affect the sorting, you will run into problems.
I almost never create a table without a numeric primary key. If there is also a natural key that should be unique, I also put a unique index on it. Joins are faster on integers than multicolumn natural keys, data only needs to change in one place (natural keys tend to need to be updated which is a bad thing when it is in primary key - foreign key relationships). If you are going to need replication use a GUID instead of an integer, but for the most part I prefer a key that is user readable especially if they need to see it to distinguish between John Smith and John Smith.
The few times I don't create a surrogate key are when I have a joining table that is involved in a many-to-many relationship. In this case I declare both fields as the primary key.
My understanding is that a primary key and a unique index with a not‑null constraint, are the same (*); and I suppose one choose one or the other depending on what the specification explicitly states or implies (a matter of what you want to express and explicitly enforce). If it requires uniqueness and not‑null, then make it a primary key. If it just happens all parts of a unique index are not‑null without any requirement for that, then just make it a unique index.
The sole remaining difference is, you may have multiple not‑null unique indexes, while you can't have multiple primary keys.
(*) Excepting a practical difference: a primary key can be the default unique key for some operations, like defining a foreign key. Ex. if one define a foreign key referencing a table and does not provide the column name, if the referenced table has a primary key, then the primary key will be the referenced column. Otherwise, the the referenced column will have to be named explicitly.
Others here have mentioned DB replication, but I don't know about it.
Unique Index can have one NULL value. It creates NON-CLUSTERED INDEX.
Primary Key cannot contain NULL value. It creates CLUSTERED INDEX.
In MSSQL, Primary keys should be monotonically increasing for best performance on the clustered index. Therefore an integer with identity insert is better than any natural key that might not be monotonically increasing.
If it were up to me...
You need to satisfy the requirements of the database and of your applications.
Adding an auto-incrementing integer or long id column to every table to serve as the primary key takes care of the database requirements.
You would then add at least one other unique index to the table for use by your application. This would be the index on employee_id, or account_id, or customer_id, etc. If possible, this index should not be a composite index.
I would favor indices on several fields individually over composite indices. The database will use the single field indices whenever the where clause includes those fields, but it will only use a composite when you provide the fields in exactly the correct order - meaning it can't use the second field in a composite index unless you provide both the first and second in your where clause.
I am all for using calculated or Function type indices - and would recommend using them over composite indices. It makes it very easy to use the function index by using the same function in your where clause.
This takes care of your application requirements.
It is highly likely that other non-primary indices are actually mappings of that indexes key value to a primary key value, not rowid()'s. This allows for physical sorting operations and deletes to occur without having to recreate these indices.
At work we have a big database with unique indexes instead of primary keys and all works fine.
I'm designing new database for a new project and I have a dilemma:
In DB theory, primary key is fundamental element, that's OK, but in REAL projects what are advantages and disadvantages of both?
What do you use in projects?
EDIT: ...and what about primary keys and replication on MS SQL server?
What is a unique index?
A unique index on a column is an index on that column that also enforces the constraint that you cannot have two equal values in that column in two different rows. Example:
CREATE TABLE table1 (foo int, bar int);
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX ux_table1_foo ON table1(foo); -- Create unique index on foo.
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (1, 2); -- OK
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (2, 2); -- OK
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (3, 1); -- OK
INSERT INTO table1 (foo, bar) VALUES (1, 4); -- Fails!
Duplicate entry '1' for key 'ux_table1_foo'
The last insert fails because it violates the unique index on column foo when it tries to insert the value 1 into this column for a second time.
In MySQL a unique constraint allows multiple NULLs.
It is possible to make a unique index on mutiple columns.
Primary key versus unique index
Things that are the same:
A primary key implies a unique index.
Things that are different:
A primary key also implies NOT NULL, but a unique index can be nullable.
There can be only one primary key, but there can be multiple unique indexes.
If there is no clustered index defined then the primary key will be the clustered index.
You can see it like this:
A Primary Key IS Unique
A Unique value doesn't have to be the Representaion of the Element
Meaning?; Well a primary key is used to identify the element, if you have a "Person" you would like to have a Personal Identification Number ( SSN or such ) which is Primary to your Person.
On the other hand, the person might have an e-mail which is unique, but doensn't identify the person.
I always have Primary Keys, even in relationship tables ( the mid-table / connection table ) I might have them. Why? Well I like to follow a standard when coding, if the "Person" has an identifier, the Car has an identifier, well, then the Person -> Car should have an identifier as well!
Foreign keys work with unique constraints as well as primary keys. From Books Online:
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
For transactional replication, you need the primary key. From Books Online:
Tables published for transactional
replication must have a primary key.
If a table is in a transactional
replication publication, you cannot
disable any indexes that are
associated with primary key columns.
These indexes are required by
replication. To disable an index, you
must first drop the table from the
publication.
Both answers are for SQL Server 2005.
The choice of when to use a surrogate primary key as opposed to a natural key is tricky. Answers such as, always or never, are rarely useful. I find that it depends on the situation.
As an example, I have the following tables:
CREATE TABLE toll_booths (
id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
...
UNIQUE(name)
)
CREATE TABLE cars (
vin VARCHAR(17) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
license_plate VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,
...
UNIQUE(license_plate)
)
CREATE TABLE drive_through (
id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
toll_booth_id INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES toll_booths(id),
vin VARCHAR(17) NOT NULL REFERENCES cars(vin),
at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP NOT NULL,
amount NUMERIC(10,4) NOT NULL,
...
UNIQUE(toll_booth_id, vin)
)
We have two entity tables (toll_booths and cars) and a transaction table (drive_through). The toll_booth table uses a surrogate key because it has no natural attribute that is not guaranteed to change (the name can easily be changed). The cars table uses a natural primary key because it has a non-changing unique identifier (vin). The drive_through transaction table uses a surrogate key for easy identification, but also has a unique constraint on the attributes that are guaranteed to be unique at the time the record is inserted.
http://database-programmer.blogspot.com has some great articles on this particular subject.
There are no disadvantages of primary keys.
To add just some information to #MrWiggles and #Peter Parker answers, when table doesn't have primary key for example you won't be able to edit data in some applications (they will end up saying sth like cannot edit / delete data without primary key). Postgresql allows multiple NULL values to be in UNIQUE column, PRIMARY KEY doesn't allow NULLs. Also some ORM that generate code may have some problems with tables without primary keys.
UPDATE:
As far as I know it is not possible to replicate tables without primary keys in MSSQL, at least without problems (details).
If something is a primary key, depending on your DB engine, the entire table gets sorted by the primary key. This means that lookups are much faster on the primary key because it doesn't have to do any dereferencing as it has to do with any other kind of index. Besides that, it's just theory.
In addition to what the other answers have said, some databases and systems may require a primary to be present. One situation comes to mind; when using enterprise replication with Informix a PK must be present for a table to participate in replication.
As long as you do not allow NULL for a value, they should be handled the same, but the value NULL is handled differently on databases(AFAIK MS-SQL do not allow more than one(1) NULL value, mySQL and Oracle allow this, if a column is UNIQUE)
So you must define this column NOT NULL UNIQUE INDEX
There is no such thing as a primary key in relational data theory, so your question has to be answered on the practical level.
Unique indexes are not part of the SQL standard. The particular implementation of a DBMS will determine what are the consequences of declaring a unique index.
In Oracle, declaring a primary key will result in a unique index being created on your behalf, so the question is almost moot. I can't tell you about other DBMS products.
I favor declaring a primary key. This has the effect of forbidding NULLs in the key column(s) as well as forbidding duplicates. I also favor declaring REFERENCES constraints to enforce entity integrity. In many cases, declaring an index on the coulmn(s) of a foreign key will speed up joins. This kind of index should in general not be unique.
There are some disadvantages of CLUSTERED INDEXES vs UNIQUE INDEXES.
As already stated, a CLUSTERED INDEX physically orders the data in the table.
This mean that when you have a lot if inserts or deletes on a table containing a clustered index, everytime (well, almost, depending on your fill factor) you change the data, the physical table needs to be updated to stay sorted.
In relative small tables, this is fine, but when getting to tables that have GB's worth of data, and insertrs/deletes affect the sorting, you will run into problems.
I almost never create a table without a numeric primary key. If there is also a natural key that should be unique, I also put a unique index on it. Joins are faster on integers than multicolumn natural keys, data only needs to change in one place (natural keys tend to need to be updated which is a bad thing when it is in primary key - foreign key relationships). If you are going to need replication use a GUID instead of an integer, but for the most part I prefer a key that is user readable especially if they need to see it to distinguish between John Smith and John Smith.
The few times I don't create a surrogate key are when I have a joining table that is involved in a many-to-many relationship. In this case I declare both fields as the primary key.
My understanding is that a primary key and a unique index with a not‑null constraint, are the same (*); and I suppose one choose one or the other depending on what the specification explicitly states or implies (a matter of what you want to express and explicitly enforce). If it requires uniqueness and not‑null, then make it a primary key. If it just happens all parts of a unique index are not‑null without any requirement for that, then just make it a unique index.
The sole remaining difference is, you may have multiple not‑null unique indexes, while you can't have multiple primary keys.
(*) Excepting a practical difference: a primary key can be the default unique key for some operations, like defining a foreign key. Ex. if one define a foreign key referencing a table and does not provide the column name, if the referenced table has a primary key, then the primary key will be the referenced column. Otherwise, the the referenced column will have to be named explicitly.
Others here have mentioned DB replication, but I don't know about it.
Unique Index can have one NULL value. It creates NON-CLUSTERED INDEX.
Primary Key cannot contain NULL value. It creates CLUSTERED INDEX.
In MSSQL, Primary keys should be monotonically increasing for best performance on the clustered index. Therefore an integer with identity insert is better than any natural key that might not be monotonically increasing.
If it were up to me...
You need to satisfy the requirements of the database and of your applications.
Adding an auto-incrementing integer or long id column to every table to serve as the primary key takes care of the database requirements.
You would then add at least one other unique index to the table for use by your application. This would be the index on employee_id, or account_id, or customer_id, etc. If possible, this index should not be a composite index.
I would favor indices on several fields individually over composite indices. The database will use the single field indices whenever the where clause includes those fields, but it will only use a composite when you provide the fields in exactly the correct order - meaning it can't use the second field in a composite index unless you provide both the first and second in your where clause.
I am all for using calculated or Function type indices - and would recommend using them over composite indices. It makes it very easy to use the function index by using the same function in your where clause.
This takes care of your application requirements.
It is highly likely that other non-primary indices are actually mappings of that indexes key value to a primary key value, not rowid()'s. This allows for physical sorting operations and deletes to occur without having to recreate these indices.