Normalisation

By
E. Siva Sankari, M.E.,
SL/IT,NEC.
Normalisation
 Process of converting a relation to a std form
 Process of analyzing the given relation schemas
based on their functional dependencies & primary
keys to achieve the desirable properties of
 Minimizing redundancy
 Minimizing the insertion, deletion & update

anomalies
Normalisation
 a design technique by which
relational database tables are structured in such a
way as to make them invulnerable to certain types
of logical inconsistencies and anomalies.

 Normal form
 Rulesfor structuring relations that eliminate
anomalies
Anomalies
 Update anomaly
 Datainconsistency resulting from data
redundancy and partial update
 Deletion anomaly
 Unintended loss of data due to deletion of
other data
 Insertion anomaly
 Inability
to add data to the database due to
absence of other data
First normal form(1NF)
A relation schema R is in first normal form(1NF)
if the domains of all attributes of R are atomic.
(A domain is atomic if elements of the domain are
considered to be indivisible units.)
(Atomicity: Each attribute must contain a single value,
not a set of values.)
or
there must be no repeating groups, i.e. no attributes
which occur a different number of times on different
records.
Second normal form(2NF)
A relation schema R is in second normal form(2NF)
R must be in 1NF
if each attribute A in R meets one of the following criteria :
It appears in a candidate key
It is not partially dependent on a candidate key

(A functional dependency α → β is called a partial dependency if

there is a proper subset γ of α such that
γ → β. We say that β is partially dependent on α )
No partial dependency (non-key attributes partially
dependent on a key attribute)
A relation is in second normal form (2NF) if it is in first normal
form and all the non-key attributes are fully functionally
dependent on the key.
Boyce Codd normal form
A relation schema R is in BCNF with respect to a set F of
functional dependencies if, for all functional dependencies
in F+ of the form α → β , where α R and β R, at least one
of the following holds:
α → β is a trivial functional dependency (that
is β α )
α is a super key for schema R

Not every BCNF decomposition is dependency

preserving.

Dependency of a non-key attribute on another non-key

attribute
Boyce Codd normal form

We cannot always satisfy all three design goals

BCNF
Lossless Join
Dependency Preservation

In those cases where we cannot meet all three

design criteria, we abandon BCNF and accept a
weaker normal form called third normal form(3NF)
Third Normal Form(3NF)
A relation schema R is in 3NF with respect to a set F of
functional dependencies if, for all functional dependencies
in F+ of the form α → β , where α R and β R, at least one
of the following holds:
α → β is a trivial functional dependency (that
is β α )
α is a super key for schema R
Each attribute A in β-α is contained in a candidate key
for R (transitive dependency)
Definition of 3NF allows transitive functional dependencies
that are not allowed in BCNF.
requires that data stored in a table be dependent only on the primary
key, and not on any other field in the table. To be 3NF, relation must be
2NF and have no transitive dependencies
Comparison of BCNF & 3NF

3NF
Adv- Possible to obtain a 3NF design without
sacrificing a lossless join or dependency
preservation
Disadv – allowing transitive dependencies
force to use null values to represent some of the
possible meaningful relationships among data
items
there is the problem of repetition of information
Comparison of BCNF & 3NF
If we are forced to choose between BCNF and
dependency preservation with 3NF, it is generally
preferable to opt for 3NF.
If we cannot test for dependency preservation
efficiently, we either pay a high penalty in system
performance or risk the integrity of the data in our
database.
Limited amount of redundancy imposed by
transitive dependencies allowed under 3NF is the
lesser evil.
Comparison of BCNF & 3NF

Three design goals for a relational database design

BCNF
Lossless join
Dependency preservation
If we cannot achieve all three, we accept
3NF
Lossless join
Dependency preservation