Normalization...What is it?

Normalization is a process for minimizing the amount of duplicate data to increase the integrity of the data. In order to do so, normalization often involves creating multiple tables and specifying the relationships between the tables. There are multiple forms of Normalization each one was designed to serve as a guideline to ensure that the database is normalized…they range from 1NF through 5NF.

The lowest form of normalization is referred to as the First Normal Form or (1NF). The intent is to eliminate duplicate attributes within a table, separate them into their own group of tables and identify the relationships between the tables.

The next form of nomalization is referred to as the Second Normal Form (2NF) This is intended for removing duplicate data. It meets all the requirements from (1NF) and removes the subsets of data that maybe contained within multiple rows of a table and moves them into their own table.

More to come...