In a relational database, a vertical partition of data within a table is called a

• A. Row
• B. Column
• C. Table
• D. Record

Answer: (B)

This question tests how we name the vertical slice of a table in a relational database. A vertical partition means you split the table by columns, keeping one attribute per column across all rows. The term for that vertical slice is a column, since a column stores values for a single attribute across every row. A row, or record, is a horizontal slice containing all attributes for one entity; a table is the whole collection of rows and columns. Horizontal partitioning would split by rows instead. So the correct term is column.