Abstract
Normal forms and dependencies are an area of great current interest in the design of relational data bases. Only a subclass, namely, root dependencies and the normal forms based on them, are of direct interest to the data base designer. Dependencies outside this subclass do not have clear cut semantics and may in the long run prove to be of theoretical interest only. We have proposed the fifth normal form (5NF) to control the pattern of codependancy, the highest known root dependency. We have also shown a strong parallel between root dependencies and their normal forms and a family of hypergraphs calledS-diagrams. Graphical normal forms, based onS-diagrams have been proposed and their equivalence to conventional normal forms proved.
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This work was supported in part by the Science and Engineering Research Board Grant Number 214–7248.
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Arora, S.K., Smith, K.C. Graphical normal forms based on root dependencies in relational data base systems. International Journal of Computer and Information Sciences 10, 235–259 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01007883
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01007883