Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Redundancy elimination and a new normal form for relational database design

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Semantics in Databases (SiD 1995)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1358))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

The relationship between redundancy elimination and normal forms in relational database design is investigated for the case where the constraints contain functional dependencies (FDs) and arbitrary join dependencies (JDs). Extending previous work on the relationship between fourth normal form (4NF) and redundancy elimination, a general definition of redundancy is proposed which is applicable to any type of relational dependency including arbitrary JDs. It is then shown that redundancy is eliminated if and only if the set of dependencies satisfies a new condition called key-complete normal form (KCNF). KCNF requires that the left-hand side of every FD is a superkey and that for every JD, every attribute in the relation scheme is contained in the union of the components of the JD which are superkeys. It is also shown that KCNF is a strictly weaker condition than projection-join normal form (PJ/NF), the original normal form proposed for Jds.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. S. Abiteboul, R. Hull and V. Vianu. Foundations of Databases. Addison-Wesley, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  2. A. V. Aho, Y. Sagiv and J. D. Ullman. Equivalences among Relational Expressions. SIAM Journal of Computing, Volume 8, Number 2, pages 218–246, 1979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. P. Atzeni and V. DeAntonellis. Relational Database Theory. Benjamin/Cummings, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  4. C. Beeri. On the Membership Problem for Functional and Multivalued Dependencies in Relational Databases. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Volume 5, Number 3, pages 241–259, 1980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. C. Beeri and M. Y. Vardi. On the Properties of Join Dependencies. In Advances in Database Theory, (H. Gallaire, J. Minker, and J.M. Nicolas, ed.), pages 25–72, Plenum Press, New York, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  6. P. A. Bernstein and N. Goodman. What Does Boyce-Codd Normal Form Do? In 6th International Conference on Very Large Databases, Montreal, Canada, pages 245–259, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  7. J. Biskup. Boyce-Codd Normal Form and Object Normal Form. Information Processing Letters, Volume 32, pages 29–33, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. J. Biskup. Database Scheme Design Theory: Achievements and Challenges. In 6th International CISMOD Conference, pages 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  9. J. Biskup and P. Dublish. Objects in Relational Database Schemes with Functional, Inclusion and Exclusion Dependencies. Theoretical Informatics aid Applications, Volume 27, Number 3, pages 183–219, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  10. E. P. F. Chan. A Design Theory for Solving the Anomalies Problem. SIAM Journal of Computing, Volume 18, Number 3, pages 429–448, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. E. F. Codd. Further Normalization of the Database Relational Model. In Courant Computer Science Symposia 6: Data Base Systems, (R. Rustin, ed.), pages 33–64, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  12. E. F. Codd. Recent Investigations in Relational Database Systems. In IFIP Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, pages 1017–1021, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  13. C. J. Date and R. Fagin. Simple Conditions for Guaranteeing Higher Normal Forms in Relational Databases. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Volume 17, Number 3, pages 465–476, 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. R. Fagin. Multivalued Dependencies and a New Normal Form for Relational Databases. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Volume 2, Number 3, pages 262–278, 1977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. R. Fagin. A Normal Form for Relational Databases that is based on Domains and Keys. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Volume 6, Number 3, pages 387–415, 1981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. R. Fagin. Normal Forms and Relational Database Operators. In ACM SIGMOD International Conference on Management of Data, Boston, Mass., pages 153–160, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  17. C. H. LeDoux and D. S. Parker. Reflections on Boyce-Codd Normal Form. In 8th International Conference on Very Large Databases, pages 131–141, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  18. T. Ling, F. W. Tompa and T. Kameda. An Improved Third Normal Form for Relational Databases. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Volume 6, Number 2, pages 329–346, 1981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. D. Maier. The Theory of Relational Databases. Computer Science Press, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  20. D. Maier, A. O. Mendelzon and Y. Sagiv. Testing Implications of Data Dependencies. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Volume 4, Number 4, pages 455–469, 1979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. D. Maier, Y. Sagiv and M. Yannakis. On the Complexity of Testing Implications of Functional and Join Dependencies. Journal of the ACM, Volume 28, Number 4, pages 680–695, 1981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. J. M. Smith and C. P. D. Smith Database Abstraction: Aggregration and Generalization. Volume 2, Number 2, pages 105–133, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  23. B. Thalheim. Dependencies in Relational Databases. B. G. Teubner, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  24. B. Thalheim. Open Problems in Database Theory. In Proceedings 1st Symposium on Mathematical Fundamentals of Database Systems, Lecture Notes in Computer Science no. 305, pages 241–247, Springer Verlag, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  25. M. W. Vincent, A Corected 5NF Definition For Relational Database Design. Theoretical Computer Science, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  26. M. W. Vincent. Semantic Foundations of 4NF in Relational Database Design. Acta Informatica, in press. 27. M. W. Vincent, Semantic Justification of Normal Forms in Relational Database Design. PhD Thesis, Department of Computer Science, Monash University, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  27. M. W. Vincent and B. Srinivasan. Redundancy and the Justification for Fourth Normal Form in Relational Databases. International Journal of Foundations of Computer Science, Volume 4, Number 4, pages 355–365, 1993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. M. W. Vincent and B. Srinivasan. Update Anomalies and the Justification for 4NF in Relational Databases. Information Sciences, Volume 81, Number, pages 87–102, 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. C. Zaniolo. A New Normal Form for the Design of Relational Database Schemata. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Volume 7, Number 3, pages 489–499, 1982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Computing Research Centre, School of Computer and Information Science, University of South Australia, 5095, Adelaide, Australia

    Millist W. Vincent

Authors
  1. Millist W. Vincent
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Bernhard Thalheim Leonid Libkin

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Vincent, M.W. (1998). Redundancy elimination and a new normal form for relational database design. In: Thalheim, B., Libkin, L. (eds) Semantics in Databases. SiD 1995. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1358. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0035011

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0035011

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-64199-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69700-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation