In the context of an RDBMS, what does the term "relational" imply?

In the context of a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), the term "relational" signifies that data is organized in a way that allows it to be linked or associated with other data through defined relationships. This concept is foundational to the relational model, which uses tables to represent data and relationships among those tables through keys.

Relational databases employ primary and foreign keys to establish these connections, enabling complex queries and interactions with the data. For example, a table containing customer information can relate to another table that holds order details, allowing for comprehensive retrieval of data linked by common identifiers. This capability facilitates data integrity and consistency and supports various operations, such as join queries.

In contrast, other options describe different models or characteristics not inherent to the relational concept. The notion of data storage in text files refers to a different method of data organization (option A), hierarchical structures pertain to a different model of data management (option C), and encryption concerns data security rather than its structural organization (option D). Therefore, the characteristic of being "relational" is specifically about the ability to create meaningful connections between data sets, which is accurately captured by the correct choice.