What process combines rows from two or more tables based on a related column?

The process that combines rows from two or more tables based on a related column is known as "joins." Joins are fundamental in relational databases, enabling users to gather related data from multiple tables by specifying a common field that exists in both. Typically, this related column contains values that can be used to establish a connection between the tables, allowing for more complex queries and data analysis.

For example, if you have a table of customers and a table of orders, you can join these two tables based on the customer ID, resulting in a dataset that not only includes customer information but also the orders associated with each customer. This is crucial for relational database operations, as it allows for greater data retrieval and management capabilities.

The other options represent different concepts within database management. "Union," for instance, is used to combine the results of two or more select queries into a single result set, but it does not involve combining rows based on a related column. "Aggregation" refers to summarizing data, such as calculating totals or averages, rather than merging rows from different tables. "Linking" is a more general term and may not specifically pertain to the relational context that joins address, thus lacking the precise meaning necessary for this particular process.