As i am in between 1-2 years experience what should i say to this interview question....
What are the types of Normalization? Should i say all the normal forms or what?
+2
A:
Knowing the formal definitions of the normal forms and being able to give some real world examples would be an excellent answer to the question.
Anders Abel
2010-04-03 06:32:39
@Anders how many types should i say?
bala3569
2010-04-03 06:34:51
If I were the interviewer, I would be looking after an *understanding* of normalization and why it is important, rather than ticking off a list from Wikipedia. Which ones of the normal forms do you consider most important to know and apply and why?
Anders Abel
2010-04-03 06:40:21
+6
A:
Way too broad of a question for an interview - it could fill a small book. I would simply remember a few key points about the first 3 normal forms (4 and 5 for extra credit). Here's a somewhat decent summary of them.
If I were interviewing you, and asked the question, I would want to hear above anything else that most db designers strive for at least 3NF but should be able to deviate from that for X reasons. Knowing when to stray from normalization and why is way more important and telling than knowing the definitions.
Dane
2010-04-03 06:54:34
+1
A:
FWIW, I think it's a silly question to ask except when interviewing people straight from a University where there's not much to ask for but theory. One of the 1st things they taught me when they taught normalization was "we'll explain these [normalization] steps now, but keep in mind that once you understand it, you won't think in terms of normal forms because 3NF will come naturally". And they were right.
Much better interview questions would be "what's wrong with this schema?" and "design a schema for the following data...". because they show applied, practiical knowledge of the underlying principles.
Tomislav Nakic-Alfirevic
2010-04-03 07:57:11
A reference for what? What I was taught at my University?
Tomislav Nakic-Alfirevic
2010-04-04 11:23:01