6 Normalization and implementation

 

In this chapter

  • You normalize your database design.
  • You implement your database design.
  • You learn important concepts such as using constraints and cascade.
What you need to know

You can find the database design covered in this chapter implemented in tools commonly used by practitioners, such as dbdiagram.io and MySQL Workbench, in the GitHub repository (https://github.com/Neo-Hao/grokking-relational-database-design). You can navigate to the chapter_06 folder and follow the instructions in the README.md file to load the database design into corresponding tools.

You can also find the SQL scripts corresponding to the almost-finalized database design for different relational database management systems (RDBMSs), including MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, and Oracle.

Overview

In this chapter, you will normalize and implement your database design for The Sci-Fi Collective. By doing so, you will learn about important concepts in database design, such as functional dependency, normalization, and constraints.

Normalization

Before converting your database design to a SQL script that creates the corresponding database and tables, you need to normalize your design. This critical step in database design is known as normalization.

There is always a primary key

There are no multivalued columns

All columns are dependent on a key but nothing else

Normalize your database design

There is no transitive dependency

Normalize your database design: A cycle involving three tables