Normalization is a database design process that organizes data in a relational database to reduce

redundancy and improve data integrity. There are several normal forms, each building on the

previous one, to guide the normalization process. Here's an overview of the first four normal

forms (1NF, 2NF, 3NF, and 4NF) along with an exmple:

1. First Normal Form (1NF):

- Definition: A table is in 1NF if it contains only atomic (indivisible) values, and there are no

repeating groups or arrays of data.

- Example: Consider a table that stores information about students and their courses. In 1NF,

each cell of the table should contain a single value. For instance, instead of having a single

"Courses" column with a comma-separated list of courses, you would have a separate row for

each student-course combination.

2. Second Normal Form (2NF):

- Definition: A table is in 2NF if it is in 1NF and all non-prime attributes are fully functionally

dependent on the primary key.

- Example: Building on the previous example, suppose we have a composite primary key

(StudentID, CourseID) in our table. If we have a column "Professor_Name" that depends only on

the "CourseID," it violates 2NF. To achieve 2NF, we might create a separate table for course

information, with the primary key being "CourseID" and attributes like "Professor_Name."

3. Third Normal Form (3NF):

- Definition: A table is in 3NF if it is in 2NF, and no transitive dependencies exist—non-prime

attributes are not dependent on other non-prime attributes.

 - Example: Extending the student and course example, if we have a column "Department" that

depends on "Professor_Name" (which, in turn, depends on "CourseID"), it violates 3NF. To

achieve 3NF, we might create a separate table for professors, with the primary key being

"Professor_ID" and attributes like "Department."

4. Fourth Normal Form (4NF):

- Definition: A table is in 4NF if it is in 3NF and has no multi-valued dependencies.

- Example: Suppose we have a table with information about projects, employees, and the tasks

assigned to each employee on a project. If we have a multi-valued dependency where a project is

dependent on both the employee and the task, we might decompose this into separate tables to

achieve 4NF.

Normalization ensures that data is efficiently organized, minimizing redundancy and anomalies,

and makes the database more robust and maintainable.