What is a partition key and why is it important?

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A partition key is the primary key component that determines which physical partition your data is stored on. It's crucial because:

Data Distribution: DynamoDB uses the partition key value to distribute data across multiple partitions
Performance: Even distribution prevents hot partitions
Scalability: Enables horizontal scaling across partitions

Example: In a user table, user_id as partition key distributes users evenly across partitions.

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