Re: Primary-key ... alternate key ... (newbie question)

In article <8Aio9.150599$8o4.21989_at_afrodite.telenet-ops.be>, joske_at_home <xvandenberge.j_at_village.uunet.be> wrote:
>
>--CELKO-- <71062.1056_at_compuserve.com> wrote in message ...
>>>> The attributes shall be depend of ALL the key's Nothing else than
>>ALL the key's? <<
>>
>>That is Chris Date's short description of Third Normal Form (3NF). The
>>actual quote is "the key, the whole key and nothing but the key" which
>>is a parody of the oath that witnesses take in a trial in the United
>>States -- "Do you swear to tell the Truth, the whole Truth and
>>nothing but the Truth, so help you God?"
>>
>
>The circle is complete ...
>We are back at my original point/question .. how to interprete 'the key' in
>this parodie/saying?
>Only the primary key that you choose, or 'all' the alternate key's.

Neither is really correct. Remember that it is just an asses bridge and should not be regarded as a substitute for the actual definitions of 3NF and BCNF. The closest thing would probably be:

 "Every attribute depends upon a candidate key, a whole candidate key and   nothing but a candidate key."

But that of course doesn't have the ring of the original. :-)

• Jan Hidders