Data Anomalies: Anomalies are problems that can occur in poorly planned, un-

normalised databases where all the data is stored in one table (a flat-file
database).
Update Anomalies happen when the person charged with the task of keeping all the
records current and accurate, is asked to change an employee’s title due to a
promotion. If the data is stored redundantly in the same table, and the person
misses any of them, update anomalies and other undesirable things will start to
show up.

Insertion Anomalies happen when inserting vital data into the database is not possible
because other data is not there. An example of this could be, if a clerk needed to
add customer information for a new customer who has not yet made a purchase
yet.

Deletion Anomalies happen when the deletion of unwanted information causes wanted
information to get deleted as well.

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 Normalization
Normalization
We discuss four normal forms: first, second and third
form, and (1NF, 2NF, 3NF….)

Normalization is the process of organizing the columns

(attributes) and tables (relations) of a relational database
to reduce data redundancy and improve data integrity

The objective of normalization:

“eliminate redundant data (storing the same data in more
than one table) and ensure data dependencies make sense
(only storing related data in a table).”.

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 Normalization
There is a sequence to normal forms:
1NF is considered the weakest,
2NF is stronger than 1NF,
3NF is stronger than 2NF.

Also,
any relation in 3NF is in 2NF; and
any relation in 2NF is in 1NF.

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 Normalization

1NF
a relation in 3NF is also in
2NF
2NF
a relation in 2NF is also in
3NF 1NF

BCNF

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 Normalization
The benefit of higher normal forms is that update semantics
for the affected data are simplified.

A design that has a lower normal form than another design has
more redundancy. Uncontrolled redundancy can lead to data
integrity problems.

First we introduce the concept of functional dependency

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 Functional Dependencies
Functional Dependencies
We say an attribute, B, has a functional dependency on
another attribute, A, if for any two records, which have
the same value for A, then the values for B in these two
records must be the same. We illustrate this as:
AB
Example: Suppose we keep track of employee email
addresses, and we only track one email address for each
employee. Suppose each employee is identified by their
unique employee number. We say there is a functional
dependency of email address on employee number:

employee number  email address

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 Functional Dependencies
EmpNum EmpEmail EmpFname EmpLname
123 [email protected] John Doe
456 [email protected] Peter Smith
555 [email protected] Alan Lee
633 [email protected] Peter Doe
787 [email protected] Alan Lee

If EmpNum is the PK then the FDs:

EmpNum  EmpEmail
EmpNum  EmpFname
EmpNum  EmpLname
must exist.

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Functional Dependencies
EmpNum  EmpEmail
EmpNum  EmpFname 3 different ways
EmpNum  EmpLname you might see FDs
depicted
EmpEmail
EmpNum EmpFname
EmpLname

EmpNum EmpEmail EmpFname EmpLname

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 Determinant
Functional Dependency

EmpNum  EmpEmail

EmpNum is a determinant of EmpEmail

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 Transitive dependency
Transitive dependency

Consider attributes A, B, and C, and where

A  B and B  C.
Functional dependencies are transitive, which
means that we also have the functional dependency
AC
We say that C is transitively dependent on A
through B.

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 Transitive dependency
EmpNum  DeptNum

EmpNum EmpEmail DeptNum DeptNname

DeptNum  DeptName

EmpNum EmpEmail DeptNum DeptNname

DeptName is transitively dependent on EmpNum via DeptNum

EmpNum  DeptName

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 Partial dependency
A partial dependency exists when an attribute B is
functionally dependent on an attribute A, and A is a
component of a multipart candidate key.

InvNum LineNum Qty InvDate

Candidate keys: {InvNum, LineNum} InvDate is

partially dependent on {InvNum, LineNum} as
InvNum is a determinant of InvDate and InvNum is
part of a candidate key
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 First Normal Form
First Normal Form
We say a relation is in 1NF if all values stored in the
relation are single-valued and atomic.

1NF places restrictions on the structure of relations.

Values must be simple.

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 First Normal Form
The following in not in 1NF

EmpNum EmpPhone EmpDegrees

123 233-9876
333 233-1231 BA, BSc, PhD
679 233-1231 BSc, MSc

EmpDegrees is a multi-valued field:

employee 679 has two degrees: BSc and MSc
employee 333 has three degrees: BA, BSc, PhD

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 First Normal Form
EmpNum EmpPhone EmpDegrees
123 233-9876
333 233-1231 BA, BSc, PhD
679 233-1231 BSc, MSc

To obtain 1NF relations we must, without loss of

information, replace the above with two relations -
see next slide

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 First Normal Form
EmployeeDegree
Employee
EmpNum EmpDegree
EmpNum EmpPhone
333 BA
123 233-9876
333 BSc
333 233-1231
333 PhD
679 233-1231
679 BSc
679 MSc

An outer join between Employee and EmployeeDegree will

produce the information we saw before

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 Second Normal Form
Second Normal Form
A relation is in 2NF if it is in 1NF, and every non-key
attribute is fully dependent on each candidate key. (That is, we
don’t have any partial functional dependency.)

• 2NF (and 3NF) both involve the concepts of key and

non-key attributes.
• A key attribute is any attribute that is part of a key;
any attribute that is not a key attribute, is a non-key attribute.
•A relation in 2NF will not have any partial dependencies

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 Second Normal Form
Consider this InvLine table (in 1NF):
InvNum LineNum ProdNum Qty InvDate
InvNum, LineNum ProdNum, Qty
There are two
candidate keys.
Qty is the non-key
attribute, and it is
InvNum InvDate
dependent on InvNum
Since there is a determinant that is not a
candidate key.InvLine is not 2NF since
there is a partial dependency of InvDate InvLine is
on InvNum only in 1NF

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 Second Normal Form
InvLine
InvNum LineNum ProdNum Qty InvDate
The above relation has redundancies: the invoice date is
repeated on each invoice line.
We can improve the database by decomposing the relation
into two relations:
InvNum LineNum ProdNum Qty

InvNum InvDate

Question: What is the highest normal form for these

relations? 2NF? 3NF?
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2NF, but not in 3NF:

EmployeeDept
ename ssn bdate address dnumber dname

since dnumber is not a candidate key and we have:

dnumber  dname.

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 Third Normal Form
Third Normal Form
• A relation is in 3NF if the relation is in 1NF and all
determinants of non-key attributes are candidate keys
That is, for any functional dependency: X  Y, where Y is
a non-key attribute (or a set of non-key attributes), X is a
candidate key.
• A relation in 3NF will not have any transitive dependencies
of non-key attribute on a candidate key through another
non-key attribute.

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 Third Normal Form
Consider this Employee relation

EmpNum EmpName DeptNum DeptName

EmpName, DeptNum, and DeptName are non-key attributes.

DeptNum determines DeptName, a non-key attribute, and
DeptNum is not a candidate key.

Is the relation in 3NF? … no

Is the relation in 2NF? … yes

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 Third Normal Form
EmpNum EmpName DeptNum DeptName

We correct the situation by decomposing the original relation

into two 3NF relations. Note the decomposition is lossless.

EmpNum EmpName DeptNum DeptNum DeptName

Verify these two relations are in 3NF.

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