Table Design and Normalization
You can design a simple database to do simple tasks easily in Microsoft Access using the built in wizards. If you can follow the prompts you can easily create a working database without any knowledge of optimal database design, or visual basic coding.
If you are creating a simple database that is performing a simple task or reporting table normalization is less important. However, if your database requires several tables you will want to make sure that your tables are Normalized to prevent future errors and to ensure that you have an efficient framework to build your Forms and Reports around.
When designing a database there are many choices to be made. Below are just a few of the questions that you should ask.
- How many tables will you need?
- What fields will you include in each table?
- How large should each field be, and what data type should I use?
- What data belongs in which table?
- What does the data in each table represent, and how is it related?
The process of Normalization has rules to follow to help you achieve the proper structure for your tables, and since the tables are the underlying framework for the rest of your database (queries, forms, reports), it is the most important part of the database. Read more about Normalization.
Understand how to add Referential Integrity to prevent Insertion, Update, and Deletion Anomalies.
To be continued...