Database Normalization

Introduction to Database Normalization

Database normalization is a process used to organize a database into tables and columns. The main idea with this is that a table should be about a specific topic and only supporting topics included.

Reasons for Database Normalization

There are three main reasons to normalize a database. The first is to minimize duplicate data, the second is to minimize or avoid data modification issues, and the third is to simplify queries.

Data Duplication and Modification Anomalies

There are duplicate salesperson data. Duplicated information presents two problems:

It increases storage and decrease performance. It becomes more difficult to maintain data changes.

There are three common forms of database normalization: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd normal form. They are also abbreviated as 1NF, 2NF, and 3NF respectively.

First Normal Form – The information is stored in a relational table with each column containing atomic values. There are no repeating groups of columns.

Second Normal Form – The table is in first normal form and all the columns depend on the table’s primary key.

Third Normal Form – the table is in second normal form and all of its columns are not transitively dependent on the primary key