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Description An entity is in First Normal Form (1NF) when all tables are two-dimensional with no repeating groups. A row is in first normal form (1NF) if all underlying domains contain atomic values only. 1NF eliminates repeating groups by putting each into a separate table and connecting them with a one-to-many relationship. Make a separate table for each set of related attributes and uniquely identify each record with a primary key. Eliminate duplicative columns from the same table. Create separate tables for each group of related data and identify each row with a unique column or set of columns (the primary key).

First Normal Form

An entity is in Second Normal Form (2NF) when it meets the requirement of being in First Normal Form (1NF) and additionally: Second Normal Form Does not have a composite primary key. Meaning that the primary key can not be subdivided into separate logical entities. All the non-key columns are functionally dependent on the entire primary key. A row is in second normal form if, and only if, it is in first normal form and every non-key attribute is fully dependent on the key. 2NF eliminates functional dependencies on a partial key by putting the fields in a separate table from those that are dependent on the whole key. An example is resolving many:many relationships using an intersecting entity.

An entity is in Third Normal Form (3NF) when it meets the requirement of being in Second Normal Form (2NF) and additionally: Third Normal Form Functional dependencies on non-key fields are eliminated by putting them in a separate table. At this level, all non-key fields are dependent on the primary key. A row is in third normal form if and only if it is in second normal form and if attributes that do not contribute to a description of the primary key are move into a separate table. An example is creating look-up tables.

Boyce Codd Normal Form (BCNF) is a further refinement of 3NF. In his later writings Codd refers to BCNF as 3NF. A row is in Boyce Codd normal form if, and only if, every determinant is a candidate key. Most entities in 3NF are already in BCNF. Boyce-Codd Normal Form BCNF covers very specific situations where 3NF misses inter-dependencies between non-key (but candidate key) attributes. Typically, any relation that is in 3NF is also in BCNF. However, a 3NF relation won't be in BCNF if (a) there are multiple candidate keys, (b) the keys are composed of multiple attributes, and (c) there are common attributes between the keys.

An entity is in Fourth Normal Form (4NF) when it meets the requirement of being in Third Normal Form (3NF) and additionally: Fourth Normal Form Has no multiple sets of multi-valued dependencies. In other words, 4NF states that no entity can have more than a single one-to-many relationship within an entity if the one-to-many attributes are independent of each other. Many:many relationships are resolved independently.

Fifth Normal Form

An entity is in Fifth Normal Form (5NF) if, and only if, it is in 4NF and every join dependency for the entity is a consequence of its candidate keys. All information in a relational database is represented explicitly at the logical level and in exactly one way - by values in tables. Each and every datum (atomic value) in a relational database is guaranteed to be logically accessible by resorting to a combination of table name, primary key value, and column name. Null values (distinct from the empty character string of blank characters and distinct from any zero or other numbers) are supported in fully relational DBMS for representing missing information and inapplicable information in a systematic way. The database description is represented at the logical level in the same way as ordinary data, so that authorized users can apply the same relational language to its interrogation as they apply to the regular data. A relational system may support several languages and various modes of terminal use (for example, the fill-in-the-blanks mode). However, there must be at least one language whose statements are expressible, per some well-defined syntax, as character strings, that is comprehensive in supporting all of the following items: Data Definition View Definition Data manipulation (interactive and by program) Integrity Constraints Authorization Transaction boundaries (begin, commit, and rollback)

Rule 1: The Information Rule 2: Guaranteed Access

Rule 3: Systematic Treatment of Null Values

Rule 4: Dynamic Online Catalog Based on the Relational Model

Rule 5: Comprehensive Data Sublanguage

Rule 6: View Updating Rule 7: High-Level Insert, Update, and Delete Rule 8: Physical Data Independence

All views that are theoretically updateable are also updateable by the system. The capability of handling a base relation or a derived relation as a single operand applies not only to the retrieval of data but also to the insertion, update, and deletion of data. Application programs and terminal activities remain logically unimpaired whenever any changes are made in either storage representations or access methods.

Application programs and terminal activities remain logically Rule 9: Logical Data Independence unimpaired when information-preserving changes of any kind that theoretically permit unimpairment are made to the base tables. Rule 10: Integrity Independence Integrity constraints specific to a particular relational database must be definable in the relational data sub-language and storable in the

catalog, not in the application programs. Rule 11: Distribution Independence A relational DBMS has distribution dependence. Rule 12: Nonsubversion If a relational system has a low-level (single record at a time) language, that low level cannot be used to subvert or bypass the integrity rules and constraints expressed in the higher-level relational language (multiple records at a time).