Normalization 1NF, 2NF, and 3NF

Think of a storage room where everything is thrown in randomly—books mixed with tools, groceries tangled with clothes. Finding anything would be a nightmare! The same happens in a database if we don’t organize data properly. Databases aren’t just about storing information; they help connect related data in a meaningful way. But just creating tables isn’t enough—we need a smart way to structure them and avoid unnecessary duplication. That’s where normalization comes in!

What is normalization?

Normalization is the process of organizing a database to reduce redundancy and improve data consistency. It involves breaking large tables into smaller, related tables while maintaining data integrity.

Note: By applying normalization, we break a large table into smaller tables based on functional dependencies.

Step-by-step normalization process

Now that we understand why normalization is necessary, let’s take this Orders table as an example to explore the concept of normalization:

First Normal Form (1NF)

Our original table contains repeating groups, meaning multiple values exist in a single row.
For example: Order 101 has two books listed but still share the same Order_ID, Customer_Email, and Address.