What is the function of a metadata in a database?

Metadata serves as data about data, providing essential details that describe the characteristics and structure of the data within a database. This information includes definitions of various data types, how the data is organized (e.g., tables, columns), and relationships between different data elements. For instance, metadata can indicate whether a field is a string or an integer, the constraints on data values, and whether certain fields are required or optional for database records.

By having clear metadata, users and database administrators can better understand how to interact with the data, making it easier to manage, retrieve, and analyze. This understanding is crucial when it comes to ensuring data integrity and optimizing data queries and storage.

The other options do not accurately encapsulate the primary role of metadata. While data access rights are important for data security, they are not the primary function of metadata itself. Developing new data formats pertains to the creation of new schema or standards rather than describing existing data. Executing SQL queries involves the actual retrieval and manipulation of data, which is a separate process that relies on the existence of metadata to understand the data’s structure.