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Database Design
There are a few keys to solid database design. Successful database design begins at the very foundation: the design! A database absolutely must be normalized (defined in the next section) for speed, efficiency and more importantly, to reduce redundancy. If a database is not normalized, then it may suffer from logical inconsistencies of various types and anomalies. Redundancy simply means duplicate data, which add to your costs in the long-run. Granted, the cost for disk space has plummeted over the years and is as inexpensive as ever. However, it is necessary to give yourself every advantage out of the starting gate and reduce costs as much as possible.
Database Design - 101
All databases we design have a core foundation. We ensure database normalization for each table. If you are unfamiliar with the term normalization, please rest assured that we are very familiar with it. Normalization refers to a technique applied to relational databases to organize data stored in the database. There are different degrees of normalization:
- First Normal Form: 1NF
- Second Normal Form: 2NF
- Third Normal Form: 3NF
- Boyce-Codd Normal Form: BCNF
- Fourth Normal Form: 4NF
- Fifth Normal Form: 5NF
- Domain/key Normal Form: DKNF
- Sixth Normal Form: 6NF
These different levels ensure that your database will run efficiently. We also take great steps to optimize each table of information so that the database performance is a fast as possible. The importance of database optimization is because most websites today are database driven and each page load time depends on the performance of the database server.
Sure this is all high-level and can be confusing but keep in mind that you get the very best of service, knowledge and experience with Starting Gate Solutions.
Should you have any questions whatsoever, contact us and our experts will guide you through the process of getting you on the web and building your site now!
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