In the context of Dataverse, what does the term 'alternate keys' refer to?

In the context of Dataverse, the term 'alternate keys' specifically refers to unique identifiers that can be used to uniquely identify a row in a table, in addition to the primary key. Alternate keys provide flexibility as they allow you to define uniqueness based on one or more columns other than the primary key. This is particularly useful in scenarios where you need to enforce data integrity and ensure that certain values remain unique across the dataset.

For example, if you have a "Customer" table, you might set an alternate key on the "Email" column to ensure that no two customers can share the same email address. This feature simplifies data verification, reduces redundancy, and can be used in integrations for referencing records.

Utilizing alternate keys can improve performance in lookups and filtering operations, thereby optimizing data handling within applications built on Power Platform. This makes them essential for maintaining the quality and reliability of data in Dataverse environments, particularly as systems become increasingly complex with multiple data sources and integrations.