Normalization

A systematic approach of organizing data in a database to eliminate

redundancy and improve data integrity. It involves dividing a database into
two or more tables and defining relationships between the tables. There
are several normal forms, each with specific rules.
 Normal forms
First Normal Form (1NF)
A relation is in 1NF if it only contains atomic (indivisible) values and each entry in a column is of the
same data type. There should be no repeating groups or arrays.
Example:
| Student_ID | Subject | Marks |
|------------|----------------|-------------|
|1 | Math, Science | 85, 90 |
|2 | English, Math | 78, 88 |
Normalization to 1NF:
Separate each subject with individual records
.| Student_ID | Subject | Marks |
|------------|----------|-------|
|1 | Math | 85 |
|1 | Science | 90 |
|2 | English | 78 |
|2 | Math | 88 |
• Second Normal Form (2NF)
• A relation is in 2NF if it is in 1NF and all non-key attributes are fully
functionally dependent on the primary key. This step eliminates partial
dependency (only applies if there’s a composite key).
• Example:Suppose we have a table where the primary key is a
combination of Student_ID and Subject.
| Student_ID | Subject | Marks | Department |
|------------|----------|-------|------------|
|1 | Math | 85 | Science |
|1 | Science | 90 | Science |
|2 | English | 78 | Arts |
|2 | Math | 88 | Science |
• Normalization to 2NF:Separate Department into another table since it depends
only on Subject, not on both Student_ID and Subject.
• Student_Subject Table:
• | Student_ID | Subject | Marks |
• |------------|----------|-------|
• |1 | Math | 85 |
• |1 | Science | 90 |
• |2 | English | 78 |
• |2 | Math | 88 |
• Subject_Department Table:
• | Subject | Department |
• | Math | Science |
• | Science | Science |
• | English | Arts |
 Third Normal Form (3NF)
Definition: A relation is in 3NF if it is in 2NF, and all non-
key attributes are non-transitively dependent on the
primary key (i.e., there should be no transitive
dependencies).
Example:Consider the following table:
| Student_ID | Subject | Marks | Department | HOD
|
|------------|----------|-------|-------------|------------|
|1 | Math | 85 | Science | Dr. Smith |
|1 | Science | 90 | Science | Dr. Smith |
|2 | English | 78 | Arts | Dr. Brown |
|2 | Math | 88 | Science | Dr. Smith |
Here, HOD depends on Department, not directly on
Student_ID and Subject.
Normalization to 3NF:Create a separate table for
Department and HOD.
Student_Subject Table:
| Student_ID | Subject | Marks | Department |
|------------|----------|-------|-------------|
|1 | Math | 85 | Science |
|1 | Science | 90 | Science |
|2 | English | 78 | Arts |
|2 | Math | 88 | Science |
Department_HOD Table:
| Department | HOD |
|------------|-----------|
| Science | Dr. Smith |
| Arts | Dr. Brown |
4. Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF)
Definition: A relation is in BCNF if it is in 3NF, and for
every non-trivial functional dependency X -> Y, X is a
super key.
Example:
| Course | Professor | Department |
|---------|------------|------------|
| Math | Dr. Allen | Science |
| Math | Dr. Brown | Arts |
Here, Course determines Professor (Course ->
Professor), but Professor is not a super key.
Normalization to BCNF:Split the table into two:
Course_Professor Table:
| Course | Professor |
|---------|-----------|
| Math | Dr. Allen |
| Math | Dr. Brown |
Professor_Department Table:
| Professor | Department |
|-----------|------------|
| Dr. Allen | Science |
| Dr. Brown | Arts |
5. Fourth Normal Form (4NF)
Definition: A relation is in 4NF if it is in BCNF and has
no multi-valued dependencies (MVDs).
Example:
| Student_ID | Course | Hobby |
|------------|---------|-----------|
|1 | Math | Chess |
|1 | Math | Music |
|1 | Science | Chess |
|1 | Science | Music |
Here, Student_ID has a multi-valued dependency on
Course and Hobby.
Normalization to 4NF:Separate Course and Hobby
into individual tables.
Student_Course Table:
| Student_ID | Course |
|------------|---------|
|1 | Math |
|1 | Science |
Student_Hobby Table:
| Student_ID | Hobby |
|------------|--------|
|1 | Chess |
|1 | Music |
Thankyou