Complete Database Normalization Step-by-Step

Normalization is the process of eliminating redundancies and decomposing relations with anomalies to produce smaller, well-structured relations. In this lecture, we will learn the concepts and processes of normalization. Then we will do a step-by-step walkthrough to normalize an unnormalized table.

First Normal Form (1NF)

1. In all tables look for redundant data.
2. If any, move column(s) into a new table.
3. All tables must have a primary key set. If there is none, create one.

Second Normal Form (2NF)

1. Tables must meet 1NF
2. Look at only tables with a composite primary key.
3. For those tables, the non-primary key columns must depend on the whole composite primary key.

Third Normal Form (3NF)

1. Tables must meet 2NF
2. Look at all tables and non-primary key columns
3. Those columns must NOT be dependent on another non-primary key column