In a database context, what is NOT a characteristic of a weak entity?

A weak entity is defined as an entity that cannot be uniquely identified by its own attributes alone and relies on a strong entity for its identification. This reliance comes from the fact that a weak entity must be associated with a strong entity, which provides part of its key.

The notion that a weak entity can have its own attributes reflects one of its characteristics, as it can indeed have additional properties that describe it, even though it lacks a unique identifier.

The fact that a weak entity is dependent on a strong entity is foundational to its definition and operation within a database. This interdependence explains why weak entities are typically linked to strong entities through foreign keys.

Furthermore, a composite primary key often identifies weak entities wherein the key is made up of the primary key of the strong entity along with its own partial key, illustrating the relationship and dependency between the two.

The assertion that a weak entity is "automatically recoverable," however, is not characteristic of weak entities. This suggests a misunderstanding of what makes weak entities distinct; they don't have intrinsic recoverability—they are inherently tied to the existence of the strong entity for identification, meaning that if the strong entity is deleted, the weak entity's existence is also compromised. Thus, this lack of independent recover