To round up, here's what we covered in this chapter.
Concepts
Entities are things, and relationships are the links between them.
Relations or tables hold a set of data in tabular form.
Columns belonging to tables describe the attributes that each data item possesses.
Rows in tables hold data items with values for each column in a table.
Keys are used to identify a single row.
Functional dependencies identify which attributes determine the values of other attributes.
Schemas are the blueprints for a database.
Design Principles
Minimize redundancy without losing data.
Insertion, deletion, and update anomalies are problems that occur when trying to insert, delete, or update data in a table with a flawed structure.
Avoid designs that will lead to large quantities of null values.
Normalization
Normalization is a formal process for improving database design.
First normal form (1NF) means atomic column or attribute values.
Second normal form (2NF) means that all attributes outside the key must depend on the whole key.
Third normal form (3NF) means no transitive dependencies.
Boyce-Codd normal form (BCNF) means that all attributes must be functionally determined by a superkey.