Keys

Keys play an important role in the relational database.

It is used to uniquely identify any record or row of data from the table. It is also used to establish and
identify relationships between tables.

For example, ID is used as a key in the Student table because it is unique for each student. In the
PERSON table, passport_number, license_number, SSN are keys since they are unique for each person.

DBMS Keys

Types of keys:

DBMS Keys

1. Primary key

It is the first key used to identify one and only one instance of an entity uniquely. An entity can contain
multiple keys, as we saw in the PERSON table. The key which is most suitable from those lists becomes a
primary key.

In the EMPLOYEE table, ID can be the primary key since it is unique for each employee. In the EMPLOYEE
table, we can even select License_Number and Passport_Number as primary keys since they are also
unique.
For each entity, the primary key selection is based on requirements and developers.

DBMS Keys

2. Candidate key

A candidate key is an attribute or set of attributes that can uniquely identify a tuple.

Except for the primary key, the remaining attributes are considered a candidate key. The candidate keys
are as strong as the primary key.

For example: In the EMPLOYEE table, id is best suited for the primary key. The rest of the attributes, like
SSN, Passport_Number, License_Number, etc., are considered a candidate key.

DBMS Keys
3. Super Key

Super key is an attribute set that can uniquely identify a tuple. A super key is a superset of a candidate
key.

For example: In the above EMPLOYEE table, for(EMPLOEE_ID, EMPLOYEE_NAME), the name of two
employees can be the same, but their EMPLYEE_ID can't be the same. Hence, this combination can also
be a key.
The super key would be EMPLOYEE-ID (EMPLOYEE_ID, EMPLOYEE-NAME), etc.

4. Foreign key

Foreign keys are the column of the table used to point to the primary key of another table.

Every employee works in a specific department in a company, and employee and department are two
different entities. So we can't store the department's information in the employee table. That's why we
link these two tables through the primary key of one table.

We add the primary key of the DEPARTMENT table, Department_Id, as a new attribute in the EMPLOYEE
table.

In the EMPLOYEE table, Department_Id is the foreign key, and both the tables are related.

5. Alternate key

There may be one or more attributes or a combination of attributes that uniquely identify each tuple in
a relation. These attributes or combinations of the attributes are called the candidate keys. One key is
chosen as the primary key from these candidate keys, and the remaining candidate key, if it exists, is
termed the alternate key. In other words, the total number of the alternate keys is the total number of
candidate keys minus the primary key. The alternate key may or may not exist. If there is only one
candidate key in a relation, it does not have an alternate key.
For example, employee relation has two attributes, Employee_Id and PAN_No, that act as candidate
keys. In this relation, Employee_Id is chosen as the primary key, so the other candidate key, PAN_No,
acts as the Alternate key.

6. Composite key

Whenever a primary key consists of more than one attribute, it is known as a composite key. This key is
also known as Concatenated Key.

For example, in employee relations, we assume that an employee may be assigned multiple roles, and
an employee may work on multiple projects simultaneously. So the primary key will be composed of all
three attributes, namely Emp_ID, Emp_role, and Proj_ID in combination. So these attributes act as a
composite key since the primary key comprises more than one attribute.
7. Artificial key

The key created using arbitrarily assigned data are known as artificial keys. These keys are created when
a primary key is large and complex and has no relationship with many other relations. The data values of
the artificial keys are usually numbered in a serial order.

For example, the primary key, which is composed of Emp_ID, Emp_role, and Proj_ID, is large in
employee relations. So it would be better to add a new virtual attribute to identify each tuple in the
relation uniquely
Generalization
o Generalization is like a bottom-up approach in which two or more entities of
lower level combine to form a higher level entity if they have some attributes in
common.
o In generalization, an entity of a higher level can also combine with the entities of
the lower level to form a further higher level entity.
o Generalization is more like subclass and superclass system, but the only
difference is the approach. Generalization uses the bottom-up approach.
o In generalization, entities are combined to form a more generalized entity, i.e.,
subclasses are combined to make a superclass.

For example, Faculty and Student entities can be generalized and create a higher level
entity Person.

Specialization
o Specialization is a top-down approach, and it is opposite to Generalization. In
specialization, one higher level entity can be broken down into two lower level
entities.
 o Specialization is used to identify the subset of an entity set that shares some
distinguishing characteristics.
o Normally, the superclass is defined first, the subclass and its related attributes are
defined next, and relationship set are then added.

For example: In an Employee management system, EMPLOYEE entity can be specialized

as TESTER or DEVELOPER based on what role they play in the company.

Aggregation
In aggregation, the relation between two entities is treated as a single entity. In
aggregation, relationship with its corresponding entities is aggregated into a higher
level entity.

For example: Center entity offers the Course entity act as a single entity in the
relationship which is in a relationship with another entity visitor. In the real world, if a
visitor visits a coaching center then he will never enquiry about the Course only or just
about the Center instead he will ask the enquiry about both.
 Functional Dependency
The functional dependency is a relationship that exists between two attributes. It
typically exists between the primary key and non-key attribute within a table.

1. X   →   Y  

The left side of FD is known as a determinant, the right side of the production is known
as a dependent.

For example:

Assume we have an employee table with attributes: Emp_Id, Emp_Name, Emp_Address.

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Here Emp_Id attribute can uniquely identify the Emp_Name attribute of employee table
because if we know the Emp_Id, we can tell that employee name associated with it.

Functional dependency can be written as:

1. Emp_Id → Emp_Name   

We can say that Emp_Name is functionally dependent on Emp_Id.

Types of Functional dependency

 1. Trivial functional dependency

o A → B has trivial functional dependency if B is a subset of A.

o The following dependencies are also trivial like: A → A, B → B

Example:

1. Consider a table with two columns Employee_Id and Employee_Name.  
2. {Employee_id, Employee_Name}   →    Employee_Id is a trivial functional dependency as   
3. Employee_Id is a subset of {Employee_Id, Employee_Name}.  
4. Also, Employee_Id → Employee_Id and Employee_Name   →    Employee_Name are trivia
l dependencies too.  

2. Non-trivial functional dependency

o A → B has a non-trivial functional dependency if B is not a subset of A.

o When A intersection B is NULL, then A → B is called as complete non-trivial.

Example:
1. ID   →    Name,  
2. Name   →    DOB  

Inference Rule (IR):

o The Armstrong's axioms are the basic inference rule.
o Armstrong's axioms are used to conclude functional dependencies on a relational
database.
o The inference rule is a type of assertion. It can apply to a set of FD(functional
dependency) to derive other FD.
o Using the inference rule, we can derive additional functional dependency from
the initial set.

The Functional dependency has 6 types of inference rule:

1. Reflexive Rule (IR1)

In the reflexive rule, if Y is a subset of X, then X determines Y.

1. If X ⊇ Y then X  →    Y  

Example:

1. X = {a, b, c, d, e}  
2. Y = {a, b, c}  
 2. Augmentation Rule (IR2)
The augmentation is also called as a partial dependency. In augmentation, if X
determines Y, then XZ determines YZ for any Z.

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1. If X    →  Y then XZ   →   YZ   

Example:

1. For R(ABCD),  if A   →   B then AC  →   BC  

3. Transitive Rule (IR3)

In the transitive rule, if X determines Y and Y determine Z, then X must also determine Z.

1. If X   →   Y and Y  →  Z then X  →   Z    

4. Union Rule (IR4)

Union rule says, if X determines Y and X determines Z, then X must also determine Y and
Z.

1. If X    →  Y and X   →  Z then X  →    YZ     
 Proof:

1. X → Y (given)
2. X → Z (given)
3. X → XY (using IR2 on 1 by augmentation with X. Where XX = X)
4. XY → YZ (using IR2 on 2 by augmentation with Y)
5. X → YZ (using IR3 on 3 and 4)

5. Decomposition Rule (IR5)

Decomposition rule is also known as project rule. It is the reverse of union rule.

This Rule says, if X determines Y and Z, then X determines Y and X determines Z

separately.

1. If X   →   YZ then X   →   Y and X  →    Z   

Proof:

1. X → YZ (given)
2. YZ → Y (using IR1 Rule)
3. X → Y (using IR3 on 1 and 2)

6. Pseudo transitive Rule (IR6)

In Pseudo transitive Rule, if X determines Y and YZ determines W, then XZ determines
W.

1. If X   →   Y and YZ   →   W then XZ   →   W   

Proof:

1. X → Y (given)
2. WY → Z (given)
3. WX → WY (using IR 2 on 1 by augmenting with W)
4. WX → Z (using IR3 on 3 and 2)

Normalization
A large database defined as a single relation may result in data duplication. This
repetition of data may result in:

o Making relations very large.

o It isn't easy to maintain and update data as it would involve searching many records in
relation.
o Wastage and poor utilization of disk space and resources.
o The likelihood of errors and inconsistencies increases.

So to handle these problems, we should analyze and decompose the relations with
redundant data into smaller, simpler, and well-structured relations that are satisfy
desirable properties. Normalization is a process of decomposing the relations into
relations with fewer attributes.

What is Normalization?
o Normalization is the process of organizing the data in the database.
o Normalization is used to minimize the redundancy from a relation or set of relations. It is
also used to eliminate undesirable characteristics like Insertion, Update, and Deletion
Anomalies.
o Normalization divides the larger table into smaller and links them using relationships.
o The normal form is used to reduce redundancy from the database table.

Why do we need Normalization?

The main reason for normalizing the relations is removing these anomalies. Failure to
eliminate anomalies leads to data redundancy and can cause data integrity and other
problems as the database grows. Normalization consists of a series of guidelines that
helps to guide you in creating a good database structure.

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Data modification anomalies can be categorized into three types:

o Insertion Anomaly: Insertion Anomaly refers to when one cannot insert a new tuple into
a relationship due to lack of data.
o Deletion Anomaly: The delete anomaly refers to the situation where the deletion of
data results in the unintended loss of some other important data.
o Updatation Anomaly: The update anomaly is when an update of a single data value
requires multiple rows of data to be updated.

Types of Normal Forms:

Normal Description
Form

1NF A relation is in 1NF if it contains an atomic value.

2NF A relation will be in 2NF if it is in 1NF and all non-key attributes are fully functional dependent
on the primary key.

3NF A relation will be in 3NF if it is in 2NF and no transition dependency exists.

BCNF A stronger definition of 3NF is known as Boyce Codd's normal form.

4NF A relation will be in 4NF if it is in Boyce Codd's normal form and has no multi-valued
dependency.

5NF A relation is in 5NF. If it is in 4NF and does not contain any join dependency, joining should be
lossless.

Normalization works through a series of stages called Normal forms. The normal forms
apply to individual relations. The relation is said to be in particular normal form if it
satisfies constraints.
Following are the various types of Normal forms:

Advantages of Normalization
o Normalization helps to minimize data redundancy.
o Greater overall database organization.
o Data consistency within the database.
o Much more flexible database design.
o Enforces the concept of relational integrity.

Disadvantages of Normalization
o You cannot start building the database before knowing what the user needs.
o The performance degrades when normalizing the relations to higher normal forms, i.e.,
4NF, 5NF.
o It is very time-consuming and difficult to normalize relations of a higher degree.
o Careless decomposition may lead to a bad database design, leading to serious problems.

First Normal Form (1NF)

 o A relation will be 1NF if it contains an atomic value.
o It states that an attribute of a table cannot hold multiple values. It must hold only
single-valued attribute.
o First normal form disallows the multi-valued attribute, composite attribute, and
their combinations.

Example: Relation EMPLOYEE is not in 1NF because of multi-valued attribute

EMP_PHONE.

EMPLOYEE table:

EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_PHONE EMP_STATE

14 John 7272826385, UP
9064738238

20 Harry 8574783832 Bihar

12 Sam 7390372389, Punjab

8589830302

The decomposition of the EMPLOYEE table into 1NF has been shown below:

EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_PHONE EMP_STATE

14 John 7272826385 UP

14 John 9064738238 UP

20 Harry 8574783832 Bihar

12 Sam 7390372389 Punjab

12 Sam 8589830302 Punjab

Second Normal Form (2NF)

o In the 2NF, relational must be in 1NF.
 o In the second normal form, all non-key attributes are fully functional dependent
on the primary key

Example: Let's assume, a school can store the data of teachers and the subjects they
teach. In a school, a teacher can teach more than one subject.

TEACHER table

TEACHER_ID SUBJECT TEACHER_AGE

25 Chemistry 30

25 Biology 30

47 English 35

83 Math 38

83 Computer 38

In the given table, non-prime attribute TEACHER_AGE is dependent on TEACHER_ID

which is a proper subset of a candidate key. That's why it violates the rule for 2NF.

To convert the given table into 2NF, we decompose it into two tables:

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TEACHER_DETAIL table:

TEACHER_ID TEACHER_AGE

25 30

47 35

83 38

TEACHER_SUBJECT table:

TEACHER_ID SUBJECT
 25 Chemistry

25 Biology

47 English

83 Math

83 Computer

Third Normal Form (3NF)

o A relation will be in 3NF if it is in 2NF and not contain any transitive partial
dependency.
o 3NF is used to reduce the data duplication. It is also used to achieve the data
integrity.
o If there is no transitive dependency for non-prime attributes, then the relation
must be in third normal form.

A relation is in third normal form if it holds atleast one of the following conditions for
every non-trivial function dependency X → Y.

1. X is a super key.
2. Y is a prime attribute, i.e., each element of Y is part of some candidate key.

Example:

EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_ZIP EMP_STATE EMP_CITY

222 Harry 201010 UP Noida

333 Stephan 02228 US Boston

444 Lan 60007 US Chicago

555 Katharine 06389 UK Norwich

 666 John 462007 MP Bhopal

EMPLOYEE_DETAIL table:

Super key in the table above:

1. {EMP_ID}, {EMP_ID, EMP_NAME}, {EMP_ID, EMP_NAME, EMP_ZIP}....so on  

Candidate key: {EMP_ID}

Non-prime attributes: In the given table, all attributes except EMP_ID are non-
prime.

Here, EMP_STATE & EMP_CITY dependent on EMP_ZIP and EMP_ZIP dependent

on EMP_ID. The non-prime attributes (EMP_STATE, EMP_CITY) transitively
dependent on super key(EMP_ID). It violates the rule of third normal form.

That's why we need to move the EMP_CITY and EMP_STATE to the new
<EMPLOYEE_ZIP> table, with EMP_ZIP as a Primary key.

EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_ZIP

222 Harry 201010

333 Stephan 02228

444 Lan 60007

555 Katharine 06389

666 John 462007

EMPLOYEE table:

EMP_ZIP EMP_STATE EMP_CITY

201010 UP Noida

02228 US Boston
60007 US Chicago

06389 UK Norwich

462007 MP Bhopal

EMPLOYEE_ZIP table:

Boyce Codd normal form (BCNF)

o BCNF is the advance version of 3NF. It is stricter than 3NF.
o A table is in BCNF if every functional dependency X → Y, X is the super key of the
table.
o For BCNF, the table should be in 3NF, and for every FD, LHS is super key.

Example: Let's assume there is a company where employees work in more than one
department.

EMPLOYEE table:

EMP_ID EMP_COUNTRY EMP_DEPT DEPT_TYPE EMP_DEPT_NO

264 India Designing D394 283

264 India Testing D394 300

364 UK Stores D283 232

364 UK Developing D283 549

In the above table Functional dependencies are as follows:

1. EMP_ID  →  EMP_COUNTRY  
2. EMP_DEPT  →   {DEPT_TYPE, EMP_DEPT_NO}  

Candidate key: {EMP-ID, EMP-DEPT}

The table is not in BCNF because neither EMP_DEPT nor EMP_ID alone are keys.
 To convert the given table into BCNF, we decompose it into three tables:

EMP_COUNTRY table:

EMP_ID EMP_COUNTRY

264 India

264 India

EMP_DEPT table:

EMP_DEPT DEPT_TYPE EMP_DEPT_NO

Designing D394 283

Testing D394 300

Stores D283 232

Developing D283 549

EMP_DEPT_MAPPING table:

EMP_ID EMP_DEPT

D394 283

D394 300

D283 232

D283 549

Functional dependencies:

1. EMP_ID   →    EMP_COUNTRY  
2. EMP_DEPT   →   {DEPT_TYPE, EMP_DEPT_NO}  
Candidate keys:

For the first table: EMP_ID

For the second table: EMP_DEPT
For the third table: {EMP_ID, EMP_DEPT}

Now, this is in BCNF because left side part of both the functional dependencies is a key

Fourth normal form (4NF)

o A relation will be in 4NF if it is in Boyce Codd normal form and has no multi-valued
dependency.
o For a dependency A → B, if for a single value of A, multiple values of B exists, then the
relation will be a multi-valued dependency.

Example
STUDENT

STU_ID COURSE HOBBY

21 Computer Dancing

21 Math Singing

34 Chemistry Dancing

74 Biology Cricket

59 Physics Hockey

The given STUDENT table is in 3NF, but the COURSE and HOBBY are two independent
entity. Hence, there is no relationship between COURSE and HOBBY.
In the STUDENT relation, a student with STU_ID, 21 contains two
courses, Computer and Math and two hobbies, Dancing and Singing. So there is a
Multi-valued dependency on STU_ID, which leads to unnecessary repetition of data.

So to make the above table into 4NF, we can decompose it into two tables:

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STUDENT_COURSE

STU_ID COURSE

21 Computer

21 Math

34 Chemistry

74 Biology

59 Physics

STUDENT_HOBBY

STU_ID HOBBY

21 Dancing

21 Singing

34 Dancing
74 Cricket

59 Hockey

Fifth normal form (5NF)

o A relation is in 5NF if it is in 4NF and not contains any join dependency and joining
should be lossless.
o 5NF is satisfied when all the tables are broken into as many tables as possible in order to
avoid redundancy.
o 5NF is also known as Project-join normal form (PJ/NF).

Example
SUBJECT LECTURER SEMESTER

Computer Anshika Semester 1

Computer John Semester 1

Math John Semester 1

Math Akash Semester 2

Chemistry Praveen Semester 1

In the above table, John takes both Computer and Math class for Semester 1 but he
doesn't take Math class for Semester 2. In this case, combination of all these fields
required to identify a valid data.
Suppose we add a new Semester as Semester 3 but do not know about the subject and
who will be taking that subject so we leave Lecturer and Subject as NULL. But all three
columns together acts as a primary key, so we can't leave other two columns blank.

So to make the above table into 5NF, we can decompose it into three relations P1, P2 &
P3:

P1

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SEMESTER SUBJECT

Semester 1 Computer

Semester 1 Math

Semester 1 Chemistry

Semester 2 Math

P2

SUBJECT LECTURER

Computer Anshika

Computer John

Math John

Math Akash

Chemistry Praveen
P3

SEMSTER LECTURER

Semester 1 Anshika

Semester 1 John

Semester 1 John

Semester 2 Akash

Semester 1 Praveen

Relational Decomposition
o When a relation in the relational model is not in appropriate normal form then the
decomposition of a relation is required.
o In a database, it breaks the table into multiple tables.
o If the relation has no proper decomposition, then it may lead to problems like loss of
information.
o Decomposition is used to eliminate some of the problems of bad design like anomalies,
inconsistencies, and redundancy.
Types of Decomposition

Lossless Decomposition
o If the information is not lost from the relation that is decomposed, then the
decomposition will be lossless.
o The lossless decomposition guarantees that the join of relations will result in the same
relation as it was decomposed.
o The relation is said to be lossless decomposition if natural joins of all the decomposition
give the original relation.

Example:

EMPLOYEE_DEPARTMENT table:

EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_AGE EMP_CITY DEPT_ID DEPT_NAME

22 Denim 28 Mumbai 827 Sales

33 Alina 25 Delhi 438 Marketing

46 Stephan 30 Bangalore 869 Finance

52 Katherine 36 Mumbai 575 Production

60 Jack 40 Noida 678 Testing

The above relation is decomposed into two relations EMPLOYEE and DEPARTMENT

EMPLOYEE table:

EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_AGE EMP_CITY

22 Denim 28 Mumbai

33 Alina 25 Delhi

46 Stephan 30 Bangalore

52 Katherine 36 Mumbai

60 Jack 40 Noida

DEPARTMENT table

DEPT_ID EMP_ID DEPT_NAME

827 22 Sales

438 33 Marketing

869 46 Finance

575 52 Production
678 60 Testing

Now, when these two relations are joined on the common column "EMP_ID", then the
resultant relation will look like:

Employee ⋈ Department

EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_AGE EMP_CITY DEPT_ID DEPT_NAME

22 Denim 28 Mumbai 827 Sales

33 Alina 25 Delhi 438 Marketing

46 Stephan 30 Bangalore 869 Finance

52 Katherine 36 Mumbai 575 Production

60 Jack 40 Noida 678 Testing

Hence, the decomposition is Lossless join decomposition.

Dependency Preserving
o It is an important constraint of the database.
o In the dependency preservation, at least one decomposed table must satisfy every
dependency.
o If a relation R is decomposed into relation R1 and R2, then the dependencies of R either
must be a part of R1 or R2 or must be derivable from the combination of functional
dependencies of R1 and R2.
o For example, suppose there is a relation R (A, B, C, D) with functional dependency set (A-
>BC). The relational R is decomposed into R1(ABC) and R2(AD) which is dependency
preserving because FD A->BC is a part of relation R1(ABC).
 Multivalued Dependency
o Multivalued dependency occurs when two attributes in a table are independent
of each other but, both depend on a third attribute.
o A multivalued dependency consists of at least two attributes that are dependent
on a third attribute that's why it always requires at least three attributes.

Example: Suppose there is a bike manufacturer company which produces two

colors(white and black) of each model every year.

BIKE_MODEL MANUF_YEAR COLOR

M2011 2008 White

M2001 2008 Black

M3001 2013 White

M3001 2013 Black

M4006 2017 White

M4006 2017 Black

Here columns COLOR and MANUF_YEAR are dependent on BIKE_MODEL and

independent of each other.

In this case, these two columns can be called as multivalued dependent on BIKE_MODEL.
The representation of these dependencies is shown below:

1. BIKE_MODEL   →  →  MANUF_YEAR  
2. BIKE_MODEL   →  →  COLOR  

This can be read as "BIKE_MODEL multi determined MANUF_YEAR" and "BIKE_MODEL

multi determined COLOR".
Join Dependency
o Join decomposition is a further generalization of Multivalued dependencies.
o If the join of R1 and R2 over C is equal to relation R, then we can say that a join
dependency (JD) exists.
o Where R1 and R2 are the decompositions R1(A, B, C) and R2(C, D) of a given
relations R (A, B, C, D).
o Alternatively, R1 and R2 are a lossless decomposition of R.
o A JD ⋈ {R1, R2,..., Rn} is said to hold over a relation R if R1, R2,....., Rn is a lossless-
join decomposition.
o The *(A, B, C, D), (C, D) will be a JD of R if the join of join's attribute is equal to the
relation R.
o Here, *(R1, R2, R3) is used to indicate that relation R1, R2, R3 and so on are a JD
of R.

Inclusion Dependency
o Multivalued dependency and join dependency can be used to guide database
design although they both are less common than functional dependencies.
o Inclusion dependencies are quite common. They typically show little influence on
designing of the database.
o The inclusion dependency is a statement in which some columns of a relation are
contained in other columns.
o The example of inclusion dependency is a foreign key. In one relation, the
referring relation is contained in the primary key column(s) of the referenced
relation.
o Suppose we have two relations R and S which was obtained by translating two
entity sets such that every R entity is also an S entity.
o Inclusion dependency would be happen if projecting R on its key attributes yields
a relation that is contained in the relation obtained by projecting S on its key
attributes.
o In inclusion dependency, we should not split groups of attributes that participate
in an inclusion dependency.
o In practice, most inclusion dependencies are key-based that is involved only keys.