Which design principle stores each piece of information in exactly one place to prevent anomalies?

Which design principle stores each piece of information in exactly one place to prevent anomalies?

• A. Graph Database
• B. Denormalization
• C. Normalization
• D. Composite Index

Answer: (C)

Normalization is the practice of structuring a database so that each piece of information is stored in one place. By splitting data into related tables and linking them with keys, you minimize redundancy and prevent anomalies that happen when data is duplicated. For example, if a customer's address were stored with every order, changing the address would require updating many rows; normalization places the address in a single customer record and references it from orders via a foreign key, so updates affect only one place. Denormalization does the opposite by reintroducing redundancy to speed up reads, which can cause inconsistencies. A graph database is a different data model focusing on relationships rather than this organizing principle, and a composite index is about query performance, not eliminating data anomalies. So normalization is the principle that ensures each fact lives in exactly one place to prevent anomalies.

Normalization is the practice of structuring a database so that each piece of information is stored in one place. By splitting data into related tables and linking them with keys, you minimize redundancy and prevent anomalies that happen when data is duplicated. For example, if a customer's address were stored with every order, changing the address would require updating many rows; normalization places the address in a single customer record and references it from orders via a foreign key, so updates affect only one place. Denormalization does the opposite by reintroducing redundancy to speed up reads, which can cause inconsistencies. A graph database is a different data model focusing on relationships rather than this organizing principle, and a composite index is about query performance, not eliminating data anomalies. So normalization is the principle that ensures each fact lives in exactly one place to prevent anomalies.