A Database For A Relational System - 865 Words

Database Normalization Srikanth Karra Instructor: Dr. Steven Case Southern New Hampshire University When we design a database for a relational system, the main objective in the development of a logical data model is to create an accurate representation of the data its relationship and constraints. The data should be split in different tables, which can then be joined together based on their relations with each other and the data found in each one of them. These tables should therefore be designed well to save on space and ensure that cases on data inconsistency are eliminated. Another aspect, which will be saved on, is space that is occupied by repetitive data. Normalization is the process that is used to remove redundancy†¦show more content†¦It is highly recommended by practitioners that all databases be designed to at most the third normal form as there’s little or no benefit designing to the higher normal forms. The type of activity or transactions to be performed against the database should determine how normalized this database will be to achieve the performance benefits. Importance of having a normalized database There are many advantages to normalizing databases. The first being the ability to minimize modification anomalies by reducing redundancy, maintain data consistency and protect data integrity. Data consistency is the act on ensuring that similar data does not appear in different tables or entries in the database. This is highly discouraged because inconsistency can result into a lot of losses in terms of space and time. It can be confusing and especially when updating the data which has multiple entries. A database should therefore be well designed to ensure that all the data is well documented and all inconsistency has been eliminated in the tables. Normalization is a process for evaluating and correcting tables to minimize the likelihood of data anomalies. Basically, normalization can help ensure the proper data is entered into any particular field by restricting what can be entered or stored in that particular field (Kroenke, 2006). The essence of data normalization is to split your data into several tables that will be connected to each other based on the data within them