Unit – IV

Relational Database Design

Algorithms and Further
Dependencies

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe

Chapter Outline
 0. Designing a Set of Relations
 1. Properties of Relational Decompositions
 2. Algorithms for Relational Database Schema
 3. Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth Normal
Form
 4. Join Dependencies and Fifth Normal Form
 5. Inclusion Dependencies
 6. Other Dependencies and Normal Forms

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 2

DESIGNING A SET OF RELATIONS
(1)
 The Approach of Relational Synthesis
(Bottom-up Design):
 Assumes that all possible functional dependencies
are known.
 First constructs a minimal set of FDs
 Then applies algorithms that construct a target set
of 3NF or BCNF relations.
 Additional criteria may be needed to ensure the
the set of relations in a relational database are
satisfactory (see Algorithms 11.2 and 11.4).

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 3

DESIGNING A SET OF RELATIONS
(2)
 Goals:
 Lossless join property (a must)

Algorithm 11.1 tests for general losslessness.
 Dependency preservation property

Algorithm 11.3 decomposes a relation into BCNF
components by sacrificing the dependency
preservation.
 Additional normal forms

4NF (based on multi-valued dependencies)

5NF (based on join dependencies)

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 4

1. Properties of Relational
Decompositions (1)
 Relation Decomposition and
Insufficiency of Normal Forms:
 Universal Relation Schema:


A relation schema R = {A1, A2, …, An}
that includes all the attributes of the
database.
 Universal relation assumption:

Every attribute name is unique.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 5

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (2)
 Relation Decomposition and
Insufficiency of Normal Forms (cont.):
 Decomposition:

The process of decomposing the universal relation
schema R into a set of relation schemas D =
{R1,R2, …, Rm} that will become the relational
database schema by using the functional
dependencies.

Attribute preservation condition:

Each attribute in R will appear in at least one
relation schema Ri in the decomposition so that no
attributes are “lost”.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 6

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (2)
 Another goal of decomposition is to have each
individual relation Ri in the decomposition D be in
BCNF or 3NF.
 Additional properties of decomposition are
needed to prevent from generating spurious
tuples

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 7

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (3)
 Dependency Preservation Property of a
Decomposition:

Definition: Given a set of dependencies F on R,
the projection of F on Ri, denoted by pRi(F) where
Ri is a subset of R, is the set of dependencies X 
Y in F+ such that the attributes in X υ Y are all
contained in Ri.

Hence, the projection of F on each relation
schema Ri in the decomposition D is the set of
functional dependencies in F+, the closure of F,
such that all their left- and right-hand-side
attributes are in Ri.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 8

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (4)
 Dependency Preservation Property of a
Decomposition (cont.):

Dependency Preservation Property:

A decomposition D = {R1, R2, ..., Rm} of R is
dependency-preserving with respect to F if the
union of the projections of F on each Ri in D is
equivalent to F; that is
((R1(F)) υ . . . υ (Rm(F)))+ = F+

(See examples in Fig 10.12a and Fig 10.11)
 Claim 1:

It is always possible to find a dependency-
preserving decomposition D with respect to F such
that each relation Ri in D is in 3nf.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 9

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (5)
 Lossless (Non-additive) Join Property of a
Decomposition:

Definition: Lossless join property: a decomposition D = {R1,
R2, ..., Rm} of R has the lossless (nonadditive) join property
with respect to the set of dependencies F on R if, for every
relation state r of R that satisfies F, the following holds, where *
is the natural join of all the relations in D:
* ( R1(r), ..., Rm(r)) = r

Note: The word loss in lossless refers to loss of information,
not to loss of tuples. In fact, for “loss of information” a better
term is “addition of spurious information”

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 10

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (6)
 Lossless (Non-additive) Join Property of a Decomposition
(cont.):
 Algorithm 11.1: Testing for Lossless Join Property
 Input: A universal relation R, a decomposition D = {R1, R2, ...,
Rm} of R, and a set F of functional dependencies.
1. Create an initial matrix S with one row i for each relation Ri in D, and
one column j for each attribute Aj in R.
2. Set S(i,j):=bij for all matrix entries. (* each bij is a distinct symbol
associated with indices (i,j) *).
3. For each row i representing relation schema Ri
{for each column j representing attribute Aj
{if (relation Ri includes attribute Aj) then set S(i,j):= aj;};};
 (* each aj is a distinct symbol associated with index (j) *)
 CONTINUED on NEXT SLIDE

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 11

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (7)
 Lossless (Non-additive) Join Property of a Decomposition (cont.):
 Algorithm 11.1: Testing for Lossless Join Property
4. Repeat the following loop until a complete loop execution results in no changes to S
{for each functional dependency X Y in F
{for all rows in S which have the same symbols in the columns corresponding
to attributes in X
{make the symbols in each column that correspond to an attribute
in Y be the same in all these rows as follows:
If any of the rows has an “a” symbol for the column, set
the other rows to that same “a” symbol in the column.
If no “a” symbol exists for the attribute in any of the rows,
choose one of the “b” symbols that appear in one of the rows for the attribute and set
the other rows to that same “b” symbol in the column ;};
};
};
5. If a row is made up entirely of “a” symbols, then the decomposition has the lossless join
property; otherwise it does not.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 12

Properties of Relational Decompositions
(8)
Lossless (nonadditive) join test for n-ary decompositions.
(a) Case 1: Decomposition of EMP_PROJ into EMP_PROJ1 and
EMP_LOCS fails test.
(b) A decomposition of EMP_PROJ that has the lossless join property.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 13

 Properties of Relational Decompositions (8)

Lossless (nonadditive) join

test for n-ary
decompositions.
(c) Case 2: Decomposition
of EMP_PROJ into EMP,
PROJECT, and
WORKS_ON satisfies test.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 14

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (9)
 Testing Binary Decompositions for Lossless
Join Property
 Binary Decomposition: Decomposition of a
relation R into two relations.
 PROPERTY NJB (lossless join test for binary
decompositions): A decomposition D = {R1, R2}
of R has the lossless join property with respect to
a set of functional dependencies F on R if and only
if either

The f.d. ((R1 ∩ R2)  (R1- R2)) is in F+, or

The f.d. ((R1 ∩ R2)  (R2 - R1)) is in F+.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 15

Properties of Relational
Decompositions (10)
 Successive Lossless Join Decomposition:
 Claim 2 (Preservation of non-additivity in
successive decompositions):

If a decomposition D = {R1, R2, ..., Rm} of R has
the lossless (non-additive) join property with respect
to a set of functional dependencies F on R,

and if a decomposition Di = {Q1, Q2, ..., Qk} of Ri
has the lossless (non-additive) join property with
respect to the projection of F on Ri,
 then the decomposition D2 = {R1, R2, ..., Ri-1, Q1, Q2, ...,
Qk, Ri+1, ..., Rm} of R has the non-additive join property
with respect to F.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 16

2. Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (1)
 Algorithm 11.2: Dependency-Preserving Decomposition into 3NF
Schemas(Relational Synthesis Algorithm)

Input: A universal relation R and a set of functional
dependencies F on the attributes of R.
1. Find a minimal cover G for F (use Algorithm 10.2);
2. For each left-hand-side X of a functional dependency that appears in
G,
create a relation schema in D with attributes {X υ {A1} υ
{A2} ... υ {Ak}},
where X  A1, X  A2, ..., X  Ak are the only dependencies
in G with X as left-hand-side (X is the key of this relation) ;
3. Place any remaining attributes (that have not been placed in any
relation) in a single relation schema to ensure the attribute
preservation property.

Claim 3: Every relation schema created by Algorithm 11.2 is
in 3NF.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 17

2. Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (1)
 Algorithm 11.3 is called a relational synthesis
algorithm, because each relational schema Ri in the
decomposition is synthesized (constructed) from the set
of FDs in G with the same left hand side X.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 18

Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design: Example

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 19

Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design:Example

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Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (2)
 Algorithm 11.3: Relational Decomposition into BCNF with
Lossless (non-additive) join property
 Input: A universal relation R and a set of functional

dependencies F on the attributes of R.

1. Set D := {R};
2. While there is a relation schema Q in D that is not in BCNF
do {
choose a relation schema Q in D that is not in BCNF;
find a functional dependency X  Y in Q that violates BCNF;
replace Q in D by two relation schemas (Q - Y) and (X υ Y);
};

Assumption: No null values are allowed for the join attributes.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 21

Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (3)
 Algorithm 11.4 Relational Synthesis into 3NF with Dependency
Preservation and Lossless (Non-Additive) Join Property
 Input: A universal relation R and a set of functional

dependencies F on the attributes of R.

1. Find a minimal cover G for F (Use Algorithm 10.2).
2. For each left-hand-side X of a functional dependency that appears in
G,
create a relation schema in D with attributes {X υ {A1} υ
{A2} ... υ {Ak}},
where X  A1, X  A2, ..., X –>Ak are the only dependencies
in G with X as left-hand-side (X is the key of this relation).
3. If none of the relation schemas in D contains a key of R, then create
one more relation schema in D that contains attributes that form a key
of R. (Use Algorithm 11.4a to find the key of R)

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 22

Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (4)
 Algorithm 11.4a Finding a Key K for R Given a
set F of Functional Dependencies

Input: A universal relation R and a set of
functional dependencies F on the attributes
of R.
1. Set K := R;
2. For each attribute A in K {
Compute (K - A)+ with respect to F;
If (K - A)+ contains all the attributes in R,
then set K := K - {A};
}

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 23

Algorithms for Relational Database Schema
Design (5)

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 24

Algorithms for Relational Database Schema
Design (5)

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 25

Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (6)

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Algorithms for Relational Database Schema
Design (6)

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Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (7)
 Discussion of Normalization Algorithms:
 Problems:
 The database designer must first specify all the
relevant functional dependencies among the
database attributes.
 These algorithms are not deterministic in general.
 It is not always possible to find a decomposition
into relation schemas that preserves
dependencies and allows each relation schema in
the decomposition to be in BCNF (instead of 3NF
as in Algorithm 11.4).

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 28

Algorithms for Relational Database
Schema Design (8)

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 29

3. Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth
Normal Form (1)
(a) The EMP relation with two MVDs: ENAME —>> PNAME and
ENAME —>> DNAME.
(b) Decomposing the EMP relation into two 4NF relations
EMP_PROJECTS and EMP_DEPENDENTS.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 30

3. Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth
Normal Form (1)
(c) The relation SUPPLY with no MVDs is in 4NF but not in 5NF if it has
the JD(R1, R2, R3). (d) Decomposing the relation SUPPLY into the
5NF relations R1, R2, and R3.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 31

Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth Normal
Form (2)
Definition:
 A multivalued dependency (MVD) X —>> Y specified on relation
schema R, where X and Y are both subsets of R, specifies the
following constraint on any relation state r of R: If two tuples t1 and
t2 exist in r such that t1[X] = t2[X], then two tuples t3 and t4 should
also exist in r with the following properties, where we use Z to
denote (R 2 (X υ Y)):
 t3[X] = t4[X] = t1[X] = t2[X].
 t3[Y] = t1[Y] and t4[Y] = t2[Y].
 t3[Z] = t2[Z] and t4[Z] = t1[Z].
 An MVD X —>> Y in R is called a trivial MVD if (a) Y is a subset of
X, or (b) X υ Y = R.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 32

Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth Normal
Form (4)
Definition:
 A relation schema R is in 4NF with respect to a set of
dependencies F (that includes functional dependencies
and multivalued dependencies) if, for every nontrivial
multivalued dependency X —>> Y in F+, X is a superkey
for R.
 Note: F+ is the (complete) set of all dependencies
(functional or multivalued) that will hold in every relation
state r of R that satisfies F. It is also called the closure of
F.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 33

Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth Normal
Form (5)
Decomposing a relation state of EMP that is not in 4NF:
(a) EMP relation with additional tuples.
(b) Two corresponding 4NF relations EMP_PROJECTS and
EMP_DEPENDENTS.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 34

Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth Normal Form
(6)

Lossless (Non-additive) Join Decomposition

into 4NF Relations:
 PROPERTY LJ1’
 The relation schemas R1 and R2 form a lossless
(non-additive) join decomposition of R with respect
to a set F of functional and multivalued
dependencies if and only if
 (R1 ∩ R2) —>> (R1 - R2)
 or by symmetry, if and only if

(R1 ∩ R2) —>> (R2 - R1)).

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 35

Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth Normal Form
(7)
Algorithm 11.5: Relational decomposition into 4NF
relations with non-additive join property
 Input: A universal relation R and a set of functional and
multivalued dependencies F.

1. Set D := { R };
2. While there is a relation schema Q in D that is not in 4NF do {
choose a relation schema Q in D that is not in 4NF;
find a nontrivial MVD X —>> Y in Q that violates 4NF;
replace Q in D by two relation schemas (Q - Y) and (X υ
Y);
};

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 36

4. Join Dependencies and Fifth Normal Form (1)
Definition:
 A join dependency (JD), denoted by JD(R1, R2, ..., Rn),
specified on relation schema R, specifies a constraint
on the states r of R.
 The constraint states that every legal state r of R should
have a non-additive join decomposition into R1, R2, ..., Rn;
that is, for every such r we have
 * (R1(r), R2(r), ..., Rn(r)) = r
Note: an MVD is a special case of a JD where n = 2.
 A join dependency JD(R1, R2, ..., Rn), specified on
relation schema R, is a trivial JD if one of the relation
schemas Ri in JD(R1, R2, ..., Rn) is equal to R.
Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 37
Join Dependencies and Fifth Normal Form (2)

Definition:
 A relation schema R is in fifth normal form
(5NF) (or Project-Join Normal Form (PJNF))
with respect to a set F of functional, multivalued,
and join dependencies if,
 for every nontrivial join dependency JD(R1, R2, ...,
Rn) in F+ (that is, implied by F),
 every Ri is a superkey of R.

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 38

Relation SUPPLY with Join Dependency and
conversion to Fifth Normal Form

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 39

Recap
 Designing a Set of Relations
 Properties of Relational Decompositions
 Algorithms for Relational Database Schema
 Multivalued Dependencies and Fourth Normal
Form
 Join Dependencies and Fifth Normal Form

Copyright © 2007 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe Slide 11- 40