Re: Checking a relation in BCNF for MVDs

From: Jan Hidders <hidders_at_hcoss.uia.ac.be>
Date: 6 Jan 2003 21:37:12 +0100
Message-ID: <3e19e8f8$1_at_news.uia.ac.be>


In article <c0d87ec0.0301061029.41417738_at_posting.google.com>, --CELKO-- <71062.1056_at_compuserve.com> wrote:
>>> Let us say there is a relation rel(attr1, attr2, attr3, attr4). It
>is an all-key relation and for that reason we know it is in BCNF. <<
>
>Actually, you know it is in 5NF.

How about the following example. A relation SPJ(S#,P#,J#) with the candidate key {S#,P#,J#} and the join dependency *({S#,P#},{S#,J#},{P#,J#}). Two questions:
1. Do you think such a relation can exist? 2. What normal form is it in?

>Chris Date likes to quote a formal proof of this, but I cannot remember the
>details.

Perhaps you remember what I wrote a while ago about good and bad definitions of 5NF?

  http://groups.google.be/groups?q=g:thl3482925004d&dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=8mk7f4%24le9%241%40news.tue.nl

Guess which definition of 5NF Date presents in his latest seventh edition. :-)

  • Jan Hidders
Received on Mon Jan 06 2003 - 21:37:12 CET

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