Understanding and mastering database normalization techniques is essential in order to achieve a high performance database design for your system. If your design doesn't conform to (at least) the Third Normal Form (3NF), chances are high that you will find it hard to achieve the performance needed for a successful application.
Furthermore, you will find that writing good DML-statements (SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT or DELETE) is difficult, and sometimes actually impossible, without using a lot of procedural coding (PL/SQL in Oracle, VB/C# in Microsoft products).
Many "experts" will tell you that if you do database normalization up to (and including) the Third Normal Form, you're well off. The Database Normalization eBook shows you that this a far too easy approach, and it is richly documented with graphical Entity Relationship and Server Diagram examples.
Before we proceed, may I ask what is your profession? (If no option matches you, just skip it):
Teacher Student Systems Analyst/Programmer Software Project Manager
Software Project managers: Learn to control how your database will meet all project requirements.
Systems Analysts and Programmers: Learn how to build high-performing databases allowing clean DML statements that run FAST.
Students and Teachers: Learn all there is about the most important database design techniques VERY FAST and in a way even your mother will understand. Students: Outsmart your teachers.
The Five Normal Forms
The Database Normalization eBook will walk you through all the 5 Normal Forms in database normalization normally used to analyze data models in the making. We will be starting with formal definitions, and then explore and explain them in plain language.
The mission of this 50-page eBook is not to deliver academic definitions of the normal forms, but to communicate the author's practical experience in data modeling using database normalization techniques, built on nearly 30 years of business experience with data modeling for government, industrial, communications and other large relational database customers.
The Database Normalization eBook also contains separate chapters on Boyce/Codd Normal Form (BCNF), and Domain Key Normal Form (DKNF).
Database Normalization eBook: Table Of Contents
"Your eBook is now mandatory reading for my project members." Sabrina, Project Manager, Germany
Target audiences:
Software project managers
Understand the difference and importance of database analysis and design vs. programming
Reveal why programmers decide differently than the business needs, and why it can create a disaster Get on even terms with the technologists with no-fuzz language Speed up the design process Cut down on time and money spent You pull the shots Why all the talk about performance considerations is non-essential Compressed information, takes less time to learn and apply Easy, down-to-earth graphic examples Conceptual modeling examples (ER diagrams) Logical modeling examples(Server diagrams) Create functionality-rich structures with maximum business flexibility Design for business scalability All within budget and time!
"I'm myself (since 1996) in the data modeling business (OLTP and OLAP, with accent on OLAP for the past 5 year).
I own and have read about 30 - 40 books on this topic (practically most of the available and out of print books) and I'm still impressed by your website and ebooks. I like a lot of things about the keynotes and ebooks, what I like most is the balance you have managed to keep between a dry subject / theory and a clear "down-to-earth" treatment of the subject, without sacrificing any of the important aspects.
The examples in the normalisation ebook are also very good." Georg Breazu, Senior Systems Consultant, Germany
System analysts and programmers
Compare normalized and denormalized structures
Experience consequences of poor design on your programs
Why the business model is more important than easy programming
Complete DDL scripts so you can experiment with database tables
Avoid poor-performing databases and programs
Speed up the development process and avoid unneccesary time and cost spendings
Highten the quality of the database as well as your SW
Understand why poor normalization can make it impossible to write some DML-statements against the database
"I've seen good, bad and butt ugly database design books. The database normalisation eBook is in the category of good. It is a concise guide, based on scientific principles and common sense." Philip, Systems Analyst, United Kingdom
Students and teachers
Explain database normalization in understandable (read: plain English) terms
Ready-made examples for direct use
Play with the ready-made database structures
See consequences all the way from conceptual modeling to physical database structures
Shorten down time to understand and master the 5 Normal Forms
Instant download: Get going NOW!
Teachers: Have your answers ready: The questions will come...
Students: Outsmart your teacher
"Your eBook has been very helpful to both me and my students." Robert, Teacher, USA
Avoid the situation of this teacher, taken from a desperate post on a forum on the Internet:
"I am about to start teaching Normalization to my students, and was wondering whether anyone can recommend an idiot's guide to BCNF for me! I am fine up to 3rd NF, then confusion sets in!... I would really like a simple explanation as any reference to BCNF which I have found so far on the Net is coughed in technical terms rather than words of less than two syllables..."
(you will find out that this is no big deal...)
As a teacher,
you are faced with several challenges:
How to communicate a complicated theme in a way that is both understandable and interesting?
I know all about it: I have been teaching database design through my job for many years. It was actually what motivated me to write this eBook: Trying to explain a complicated theme in an understandable and engaging manner.
A year ago, I found this cry for help, taken from a desperate post on a forum on the Internet:
"I am about to start teaching Normalization to my students, and was wondering whether anyone can recommend an idiot's guide to BCNF for me! I am fine up to 3rd NF, then confusion sets in!... I would really like a simple explanation as any reference to BCNF which I have found so far on the Net is coughed in technical terms rather than words of less than two syllables..."
(you will find out that this is no big deal...)
I also got this relieved email from a teacher (and customer):
"Your eBook has been very helpful to both me and my students." Robert, Teacher, USA
Robert told me that he's using the graphical illustrations (Entity Relationship and Server Model diagrams) from my eBook to create a concistent theme through all the five Normal Forms for his students. Robert is also using my DDL scripts to actually create an example database for his students. You can too:
Explain database normalization in understandable (read: plain English) terms
Ready-made examples for direct use
Play with the ready-made database structures
See consequences all the way from conceptual modeling to physical database structures
Shorten down time to understand and master the 5 Normal Forms
Instant download: Get going NOW!
Have your answers ready: The difficult questions will come from your students...
As a student,
you are faced with a lot to learn in a limited amount of time.
Some things you won't even learn properly: If your teacher isn't able to help you, who can?
Take a look at this: It is a forum post from a teacher somewhere in Cyberspace:
"I am about to start teaching Normalization to my students, and was wondering whether anyone can recommend an idiot's guide to BCNF for me! I am fine up to 3rd NF, then confusion sets in!...I would really like a simple explanation as any reference to BCNF which I have found so far on the Net is coughed in technical terms rather than words of less than two syllables..."
Imagine if your future degrees depend on this teacher...
I will let you in on a little secret: For 25 years, I have been responsible for hiring consultants for various companies. I love to hire freshly educated people; Very often, they bring enthusiasm, guts and new ideas with them. However, I always put them through subtle testing. Understanding database normalization techniques is high on my priority list...
Take control of your own future, and get the essentials of database normalization explained in an easy and engaging style. Use your saved time for other things to do and study.
Understand database normalization in straight and plain English terms
Ready-made examples for direct use
Play with the ready-made database structures
See consequences all the way from conceptual modeling to physical database structures
Shorten down time to understand and master the 5 Normal Forms
Instant download: Get going NOW!
Outsmart your teacher and fellow students
Robert is a smart teacher :-)
"Your eBook has been very helpful to both me and my students." Robert, Teacher, USA
Robert is actually using the material from my eBook to structure his teaching of all the Five Normal Forms to his students. He is using all the E-R and Server Model diagrams, as well as the DDL scripts in my eBook as examples for them.
As a Systems Analyst/Programmer,
it is easy to fall into the trap of going head-on with programming, without taking the time for a proper design. I have also "been there, done that", myself, in earlier days.
However, you know very well, as do I, that this shortcut to problem solving may cost you dearly, both in time spent on a problem, as well as the quality, and flexibility, to withstand changes in the business model for the finished system.
With my database normalization eBook, you will:
Compare normalized and denormalized structures
Experience consequences of poor design on your programs
Understand why the business model is more important than easy programming
Read complete DDL scripts so you can experiment with database tables
Avoid poor-performing databases and programs
Speed up the development process and avoid unneccesary time and cost spendings
Highten the quality of the database as well as your SW
Understand why poor normalization can make it impossible to write some DML-statements against the database
Philip is a dead-honest SW engineer:
"I've seen good, bad and butt ugly database design books. The database normalisation eBook is in the category of good. It is a concise guide, based on scientific principles and common sense." Philip, Systems Analyst, United Kingdom
Georg is an experienced Senior IT professional, who wrote to me:
"I'm myself (since 1996) in the data modeling business (OLTP and OLAP, with accent on OLAP for the past 5 year).
I own and have read about 30 - 40 books on this topic (practically most of the available and out of print books) and I'm still impressed by your website and ebooks. I like a lot of things about the keynotes and ebooks, what I like most is the balance you have managed to keep between a dry subject / theory and a clear "down-to-earth" treatment of the subject, without sacrificing any of the important aspects.
The examples in the normalisation ebook are also very good." Georg Breazu, Senior Systems Consultant, Germany
As a Software Project Manager,
you may sometimes find yourself at the mercy of the IT/Programming "gurus", who insist on a fast implementation approach. Argumentation for it may be heavy; Watch out when the performance issue arises. Such an approach can be devastating to your project outcome.
The last 15 years I have worked as a project manager and a database design QA responsible. What most people are not aware of, is my extensive programming background: I enjoy working on the database server side programming as part of a team, or at least I like to participace in setting standards for coding and flexibility (you know the %TYPE argument in Oracle PL/SQL?)
That is why I always can tell when someone tries to overrun my position as a project manager from the programming side. I have included a couple of sections on this issue in the Database Normalization eBook...
When designing a system, we seek to gain both high performance solutions, as well as flexible structures, which allow for handling changing business demands with a minimum (or no) SW programming or design changes.
Database normalization is an essential technique for achieving this:
Understand the difference and importance of database analysis and design vs. programming
Reveal why programmers decide differently than the business needs, and why it can create a disaster
Get on even terms with the technologists with no-fuzz language
Speed up the design process
Cut down on time and money spent
You pull the shots
Why all the talk about performance considerations is non-essential
Compressed information, takes less time to learn and apply
Easy, down-to-earth graphic examples
Conceptual modeling examples (ER diagrams)
Logical modeling examples(Server diagrams)
Create functionality-rich structures with maximum business flexibility
Design for business scalability
All within budget and time!
"I'm myself (since 1996) in the data modeling business (OLTP and OLAP, with accent on OLAP for the past 5 year).
I own and have read about 30 - 40 books on this topic (practically most of the available and out of print books) and I'm still impressed by your website and ebooks. I like a lot of things about the keynotes and ebooks, what I like most is the balance you have managed to keep between a dry subject / theory and a clear "down-to-earth" treatment of the subject, without sacrificing any of the important aspects.
The examples in the normalisation ebook are also very good." Georg Breazu, Senior Systems Consultant, Germany
"Your eBook is now mandatory reading for my project members." Sabrina, Project Manager, Germany
Sabrina told me she had severe difficulties in one of her projects. After reading my eBook, she felt that she was on much more even terms with those who wanted to rush ahead without doing the proper analysis, and she had the arguments to put all the facts on the table.
Consistent examples
The Database Normalization eBook uses a consistent theme of accounts, departments, projects and transactions throughout, so you can easily review the consequences as we move from First Normal Form through all the accepted Normal Forms.
Entity Relationship and Database diagrams
Pros and cons of denormalization with the aim of improving performance are also discussed, and which consequences denormalization may have on your database. The Database Normalization eBook is illustrated with more than 20 entity relationship diagrams, as well as database (server) models, and SELECT statements that use the model.
Complete DDL scripts
The Database Normalization eBook includes complete DDL (Data Definition Language) scripts for creating the tables, indexes and constraints from the example database model in the eBook, for both Oracle and MS SQL Server. This will give you a view of the components that need to be created in order to build a fully normalized sample database.
If you are serious about understanding how databases are designed for maximum performance and minimum (no) redundancy, then you should know the details of database normalization.
PL/SQL?)
