Canonical Cover &

Normal Forms
September 5, 2016

Canonical Cover

The number closure computation depends on the

number of FDs in F

Question: Can we minimize F?

Let F and G be sets of FDs. F G iff F+ G+

If F G we may say: G is a cover of F and vice

versa

Canonical Cover
A

canonical / minimal cover of F is a set G of

FDs that satisfies the following:

1. G is equivalent to F; that is, G F
2. G is minimal; that is, if we obtain a set H of FDs
from G by deleting one or more of its FDs, or by
deleting one or more attributes from some FD in
G, then F H
3. Every FD in G is of the form X A, where A is a
single attribute
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Computing Canonical Cover

Step 1: Put the FDs in the simple form

Initialize G := F
Replace each FD X A1A2Ak in G with XA1,
XA2, , XAk

Step 2: Minimize the left hand side of each FD

E.g., for each FD AB C in G, check if A or B on the

LHS is redundant , i.e., (G {AB C } {A C })+
F +?

Step 3: Delete redundant FDs

For each FD X A in G, check if it is redundant, i.e.,

whether (G {X A })+ F+?

Exercise #1

Consider R = {A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H} with a

set of FDs
F = {CDA, ECH, GHBAB, CD,
EGA, HB, BECD, ECB}

Find a canonical cover for F

Normal Forms

Given a relation schema R, we want to determine

whether it has problems related to redundancy. If
so, we need to decompose it into smaller relations.
To address these issues, we need to study normal
forms

Types of Normal Forms

Examples of normal forms:

First normal form (1NF)

Second normal form (2NF)
Third normal form (3NF)
Boyce-Codd normal form (BCNF)

These normal forms have increasingly restrictive

requirements
BCNF

3NF

2NF

1NF

First Normal Form (1NF)

A

relation schema R is in the first normal

form if the domain of its each attribute has
only atomic values (No attribute is allowed to
be composite or multi valued)
Example: The following relation is not in 1NF

Student (SID, SName, {(CourseId, CouseName,

Grade)})

Second Normal Form (2NF)

A

relation schema R w.r.t. F is in 2NF if:

1. It is in 1NF
2. Every Non-Primary-Key attribute is fully
functionally dependent upon the ENTIRE
Primary-Key for its existence
For each non-key attribute, ask:
If I knew the value for part of the Primary-Key,
could I tell what the value for non-key attribute
would be?
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2NF Example - 1

Inventory (Item, Supplier, Cost, Supplier Address)

We first check if Cost is fully functionally dependent upon
the ENTIRE Primary-Key
If I know just Item, can I find out Cost?
No. We can have > 1 supplier for the same product.
If I know just Supplier, and I find out Cost?
No. We need to know what the Item is as well.
So, Cost is fully functionally dependent upon the ENTIRE
Primary-Key

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2NF Example - 2

Inventory (Item, Supplier, Cost, Supplier Address)

We then check if Supplier Address is fully functionally
dependent upon the ENTIRE Primary-Key
If I know just Item, can I find out Supplier Address?
No. We can have > 1 supplier for the same product.
If I know just Supplier, and I find out Supplier Address?
Yes. The suppliers address does not depend on the
Item.

So, Supplier Address is NOT fully functionally

dependent upon the ENTIRE Primary-Key NOT 2NF
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Third Normal Form (3NF)

A relation schema R w.r.t. F is in 3NF if, for every

FD X A in F, at least one of the following
conditions holds:
A X, that is, X A is a trivial FD, or
X is a superkey, or
If X is not a key, then A is part of some key of R
To determine if a relation <R, F> is in 3NF, we
Check whether the LHS of each nontrivial FD in
F is a superkey
If not, check whether its RHS is part of any key
of R

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Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF)

A relation schema R w.r.t. F is in BCNF if, for every

FD X A in F, at least one of the following
conditions is true:
A X, that is, X A is a trivial FD, or
X is a super key
To determine whether R w.r.t. F is in BCNF
Check whether the LHS X of each nontrivial FD
in F is a superkey
How? Simply compute X+ (w.r.t. F) and check
if X+ = R

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Exercise #2

Consider R = {A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H} with a

set of FDs
F = {CDA, ECH, GHBAB, CD,
EGA, HB, BECD, ECB}

Is R w.r.t. F in 3NF?

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Exercise #3
Consider

R = {A, B, C, D, E, F, G} with a set

of FDs
F = {ABCDE, ABD, DEABCF, EC}
Is R in BCNF, 3NF, or neither?

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