Learning Objectives

  • Describe Boyce Codd Normal Form (BCNF)
  • Decompose a relational schema into 3NF based on the schema’s functional dependencies

How to Complete this Lesson

  1. Read Fundamentals of Database Management Systems Chapter 7: Logical Database Design (75 minutes)
  2. Attend the class meeting
  3. Complete the handout

Further Information

Edgar F. Codd defined first normal form (1NF) in his seminal paper “A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks” (Codd 1970). He later defined the second and third normal forms (2NF and 3NF) and contributed to the development of Boyce-Codd normal form (BCNF), which eliminates all redundancy that can be discovered from the functional dependencies among attributes. Higher-level normal forms exist, such as fourth normal form (4NF), which addresses redundancy due to multivalued dependencies. 4NF was invented by Ronald Fagin, Professor Barry Fagin’s cousin.

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