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Database normalization is the process of structuring a relational database accordance with a series of so-called normal forms in order to reduce data redundancy and improve data integrity. It was first proposed by British computer scientist Edgar F. Codd as part of his relational model .
Normalization splits up data to avoid redundancy (duplication) by moving commonly repeating groups of data into new tables. Normalization therefore tends to increase the number of tables that need to be joined in order to perform a given query, but reduces the space required to hold the data and the number of places where it needs to be updated if the data changes.
"Don't repeat yourself" (DRY), also known as "duplication is evil", is a principle of software development aimed at reducing repetition of information which is likely to change, replacing it with abstractions that are less likely to change, or using data normalization which avoids redundancy in the first place.
Data redundancy leads to data anomalies and corruption and generally should be avoided by design; [5] applying database normalization prevents redundancy and makes the best possible usage of storage. [ 6 ]
A database relation (e.g. a database table) is said to meet third normal form standards if all the attributes (e.g. database columns) are functionally dependent on solely a key, except the case of functional dependency whose right hand side is a prime attribute (an attribute which is strictly included into some key).
The purpose of this normalization is to increase flexibility and data independence, and to simplify the data language. It also opens the door to further normalization, which eliminates redundancy and anomalies. Most relational database management systems do not support nested records, so tables are in first normal form by default.
Fifth normal form (5NF), also known as projection–join normal form (PJ/NF), is a level of database normalization designed to remove redundancy in relational databases recording multi-valued facts by isolating semantically related multiple relationships.
This was the first time the notion of a relational database was published. All work after this, including the Boyce–Codd normal form method was based on this relational model. The Boyce–Codd normal form was first described by Ian Heath in 1971, and has also been called Heath normal form by Chris Date .