Database Management Systems · Foundations

Normalization

Splitting tables so each fact lives in exactly one place, to avoid update anomalies.

Also known as: 1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF, normal forms.

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• Functional dependencies: One column's value fully determines another's, e.g. knowing the ID tells you the name.

Related topics

• Entity-relationship modeling: Sketching entities and their relationships as a diagram before turning them into tables.
• Indexes and B-trees: A sorted, tree-shaped shortcut structure that lets the database find rows without scanning the whole table.
• Data warehousing and OLAP: A separate database optimized for big analytical queries over historical data, not fast day-to-day transactions.