NORMALIZATION

What is Normalization?

The purpose of normalization is to produce a stable set of relations that is a faithful model of the
operations of the enterprise. By following the principles of normalization, we can achieve a
design that is highly flexible, allowing the model to be extended when needed to account for new
attributes, entity sets, and relationships. A relation is in specific normal form if it satisfies the set
of requirements or constraints for that form. All of the normal forms are nested in that each
satisfies the constraints of the previous one but is a "better" form because each eliminates flaws
found in the previous form.

Universe of relations (normalized and unnormalized)

List and define the different types of dependencies?

Functional Dependency:- A functional dependency is a type of relationship between attributes,

as described below:

If A and B are attributes or sets of attributes of relation R, we say that B is functionally

dependent on A if each value of A in R has associated with it exactly one value of B in R. We
write this as A --> B.

In a relation R, attribute B of R is fully functional dependent on an attribute or set of attributes A

of R if B is functionally dependent on A but not functionally dependent on any proper subset of
A.
Multivalued Dependency

Let R be a relation having attributes or sets of attributes A, B, and C. There is a multivalued

dependency of attribute B on attribute A if and only if the set of B values associated with a given
A value is independent of the C values. We write this as A -->> B.

Join Dependency

Let R be a relation, and let A, B, ...., Z be arbitrary subsets of the set of attributes of R. Then we
say that R satisfies the join dependency (JD)

* ( A, B, ...., Z ) if and only if R is equal to the join of its projections on A, B, ..., Z.

List Inference axioms or Armstrong's axioms?

Let A, B, C, and D be subsets of attributes of a relation R.

Reflexivity

If B is a subset of A, then A --> B. This also implies that A --> A always holds. Functional
dependencies of this type are called trivial functional dependencies.

Augmentation

If A --> B, then AC --> BC

Transitivity

If A --> B and B --> C, then A --> C

Additivity or Union

If A --> B and A --> C, then A --> BC

Projectivity or Decomposition

If A --> BC then A --> B and A --> C

Pseudotransitivity

If A --> B and CB --> D, then AC --> D

What is a closure of a set of dependencies?

Suppose we have a relation R with three attributes A, B, and C, such that the FDs A --> B and B
--> C both hold in R. Then it is easy to see that the FD A --> C also holds in R. The set of all
FDs that are implied by a given set S of FDs is called the closure of S, and is denoted S+

What is a closure of a set of attributes?

Given a subset A of the set of attributes of relation R and a set S of FDs that hold in R, the
closure A+ of A under S is the set of all attributes B of R such that the FD A --> B is a member
of

What is Decomposition, explain Lossless Decomposition?

A decomposition of a set of a relation R is a set of relations { R1, R2,.., Rn} such that each Ri is
a subset of R and the union of all of the Ri is R.

A decomposition { R1, R2,...,Rn} of a relation R is called a lossless decomposition for R if the

natural join of R1, R2, ..., Rn produces exactly the relation R.

Give the definitions of the various normal forms?

First Normal Form:- A relation is in first normal form if and only if every attribute is single-
valued for each tuple. This means that each attribute in each row, or each cell of the table,
contains only one value.

Second Normal Form:- A relation is in second normal form (2NF) if and only if it is in first
normal form and all the nonkey attributes are fully functionally dependent on the key.

Third Normal Form:- A relation is in third normal form (3NF) if it is in second normal form
and no nonkey attribute is transitively dependent on the key.

Boyce-Codd Normal Form:- A relation is in Boyce-Codd normal form (BCNF) if and only if
every determinant is a candidate key.

Fourth Normal Form:- A relation is in fourth normal form (4NF) if and only if it is in Boyce-
Codd normal form and there are no nontrivial multivalued dependencies.

Fifth Normal Form:- A relation is in fifth normal form (5NF) if no remaining nonloss
projections are possible, except the trivial one in which the key appears in each projection.