Database Systems:

Design, Implementation, and

Management
Ninth Edition

Chapter 6
Normalization of Database Tables
 Objectives
2

◻ In this chapter, students will learn:

What normalization is and what role it plays in the
database design process
About the normal forms 1NF, 2NF, and 3NF
How normal forms can be transformed from lower
normal forms to higher normal forms
That normalization and ER modeling are used
concurrently to produce a good database design
That some situations require denormalization to
generate information efficiently

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Database Tables and Normalization
3

◻ Normalization
Process for evaluating and correcting table structures
to minimize data redundancies
■ Reduces data anomalies
Series of stages called normal forms:
■ First normal form (1NF)
■ Second normal form (2NF)
■ Third normal form (3NF)

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 Database Tables and Normalization
4
(cont’d.)
◻ Normalization (continued)
2NF is better than 1NF; 3NF is better than 2NF
For most business database design purposes, 3NF is as
high as needed in normalization
Highest level of normalization is not always most
desirable
◻ Denormalization produces a lower normal form
Increased performance but greater data redundancy

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 The Need for Normalization
5

◻ Example: company that manages building projects

Charges its clients by billing hours spent on each
contract
Hourly billing rate is dependent on employee’s
position
Periodically, report is generated that contains
information such as displayed in Table 6.1

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Database Systems, 9th Edition

 The Need for Normalization (cont’d.)
8

◻ Structure of data set in Figure 6.1 does not handle

data very well
◻ Table structure appears to work; report is generated
with ease
◻ Report may yield different results depending on
what data anomaly has occurred
◻ Relational database environment is suited to help
designer avoid data integrity problems

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 The Normalization Process
9

◻ Each table represents a single subject

◻ No data item will be unnecessarily stored in more
than one table
◻ All nonprime attributes in a table are dependent on
the primary key
◻ Each table is void of insertion, update, deletion
anomalies

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10 Database Systems, 9th Edition
 The Normalization Process
11
(cont’d.)
◻ Objective of normalization is to ensure that all
tables are in at least 3NF
◻ Higher forms are not likely to be encountered in
business environment
◻ Normalization works one relation at a time
◻ Progressively breaks table into new set of relations
based on identified dependencies

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12 Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Conversion to First Normal Form
13

◻ Repeating group
Group of multiple entries of same type can exist for
any single key attribute occurrence
◻ Relational table must not contain repeating groups
◻ Normalizing table structure will reduce data
redundancies
◻ Normalization is three-step procedure

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Conversion to First Normal Form
14
(cont’d.)
◻ Step 1: Eliminate the Repeating Groups
Eliminate nulls: each repeating group attribute contains
an appropriate data value
◻ Step 2: Identify the Primary Key
Must uniquely identify attribute value
New key must be composed
◻ Step 3: Identify All Dependencies
Dependencies are depicted with a diagram

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Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Conversion to First Normal Form
16
(cont’d.)
◻ Dependency diagram:
Depicts all dependencies found within given table
structure
Helpful in getting bird’s-eye view of all relationships
among table’s attributes
Makes it less likely that you will overlook an important
dependency

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 Conversion to First Normal Form
18
(cont’d.)
◻ First normal form describes tabular format:
All key attributes are defined
No repeating groups in the table
All attributes are dependent on primary key
◻ All relational tables satisfy 1NF requirements
◻ Some tables contain partial dependencies
Dependencies are based on part of the primary key
Should be used with caution

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Conversion to Second Normal
19
Form
◻ Step 1: Make New Tables to Eliminate Partial
Dependencies
Write each key component on separate line, then write
original (composite) key on last line
Each component will become key in new table
◻ Step 2: Assign Corresponding Dependent
Attributes
Determine attributes that are dependent on other
attributes
At this point, most anomalies have been eliminated

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Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Conversion to Second Normal Form
21
(cont’d.)
◻ Table is in second normal form (2NF) when:
It is in 1NF and
It includes no partial dependencies:
■ No attribute is dependent on only portion of primary key

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Conversion to Third Normal Form
22

◻ Step 1: Make New Tables to Eliminate Transitive

Dependencies
For every transitive dependency, write its determinant
as PK for new table
Determinant: any attribute whose value determines
other values within a row

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 Conversion to Third Normal Form
23
(cont’d.)
◻ Step 2: Reassign Corresponding Dependent
Attributes
Identify attributes dependent on each determinant
identified in Step 1
■ Identify dependency
Name table to reflect its contents and function

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Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Conversion to Third Normal Form
25
(cont’d.)
◻ A table is in third normal form (3NF) when both of
the following are true:
It is in 2NF
It contains no transitive dependencies

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Improving the Design
26

◻ Table structures should be cleaned up to eliminate

initial partial and transitive dependencies
◻ Normalization cannot, by itself, be relied on to
make good designs
◻ Valuable because it helps eliminate data
redundancies

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Improving the Design (cont’d.)
27

◻ Issues to address, in order, to produce a good

normalized set of tables:
Evaluate PK Assignments
Evaluate Naming Conventions
Refine Attribute Atomicity
Identify New Attributes

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 Improving the Design (cont’d.)
28

◻ Issues to address, in order, to produce a good

normalized set of tables (cont’d.):
Identify New Relationships
Refine Primary Keys as Required for Data Granularity
Maintain Historical Accuracy
Evaluate Using Derived Attributes

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Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Surrogate Key Considerations
30

◻ When primary key is considered to be unsuitable,

designers use surrogate keys
◻ Data entries in Table 6.4 are inappropriate because
they duplicate existing records
No violation of entity or referential integrity

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 Normalization and Database Design
31

◻ Normalization should be part of the design process

◻ Make sure that proposed entities meet required
normal form before table structures are created
◻ Many real-world databases have been improperly
designed or burdened with anomalies
◻ You may be asked to redesign and modify existing
databases

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 Normalization and Database Design
32
(cont’d.)
◻ ER diagram
Identify relevant entities, their attributes, and their
relationships
Identify additional entities and attributes
◻ Normalization procedures
Focus on characteristics of specific entities
Micro view of entities within ER diagram
◻ Difficult to separate normalization process from
ER modeling process
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 Denormalization
38

◻ Creation of normalized relations is important

database design goal
◻ Processing requirements should also be a goal
◻ If tables are decomposed to conform to
normalization requirements:
Number of database tables expands

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 Denormalization (cont’d.)
39

◻ Joining the larger number of tables reduces system

speed
◻ Conflicts are often resolved through compromises
that may include denormalization
◻ Defects of unnormalized tables:
Data updates are less efficient because tables are larger
Indexing is more cumbersome
No simple strategies for creating virtual tables known
as views

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Data-Modeling Checklist
40

◻ Data modeling translates specific real-world

environment into data model
Represents real-world data, users, processes,
interactions
◻ Data-modeling checklist helps ensure that
data-modeling tasks are successfully performed
◻ Based on concepts and tools learned in Part II

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Database Systems, 8th Edition

 Summary
42

◻ Normalization minimizes data redundancies

◻ First three normal forms (1NF, 2NF, and 3NF) are
most commonly encountered
◻ Table is in 1NF when:
All key attributes are defined
All remaining attributes are dependent on primary key

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 Summary (cont’d.)
43

◻ Table is in 2NF when it is in 1NF and contains no partial

dependencies
◻ Table is in 3NF when it is in 2NF and contains no
transitive dependencies
◻ Table that is not in 3NF may be split into new tables until
all of the tables meet 3NF requirements
◻ Normalization is important part—but only part—of the
design process

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 Summary (cont’d.)
44

◻ Table in 3NF may contain multivalued

dependencies
Numerous null values or redundant data
◻ Convert 3NF table to 4NF by:
Splitting table to remove multivalued dependencies
◻ Tables are sometimes denormalized to yield less
I/O, which increases processing speed

Database Systems, 9th Edition