Re: 3NF question

>> I'm not sure what the answer is to the whole naming question, but
can't the column name "id" be interpreted in the context of the name of the table in which it appears? <<

The context it appears in is the whole schema, not a table. You do have a data dictionary, don't you? And it applies to the whole data model, right? You are confusing Cobol file declarations with RDBMS table declarations.

If an "employee_salary" is logical different from other salaries,then it needs that name. It is not, then you might have "salary_amt" , "salary_grade", etc. that give the attributes of that entity in your model.

The rule for identifiers is:

1) Use the industry standard if you have one
2) Look for a natural key if you have one
3) carefully define your own key (check digits, vlaidation rules, etc.)