How to answer this interview question? [closed]

Question

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?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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.

Answer 3

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.