Re: 2nd and 3rd Normals

} } So, on with the question. Forgetting the book definition, and talking in } real terms, I have always believed that the 2nd normal form of a DB is } where every column in a record is dependant on the primary key. For example, in an order file, where the primary key is Order Number, a column called Customer } number is in the second normal form if there is a "business dependancy" } between the order number and the customer number. The DB would not be in } 2nd normal if the customer number had nothing to do with order number (hard } to imagine) or if the customer number/order number pair was already held } in another table making the instance in the order file redundant. } } For 3rd normal, each non key column in the table (not primary or foreign) } has to be dependant on the primary key only. For example, if our order file } contained stock number, and stock description, then it could be said that } stock description is functionaly linked to the order number but also to the } stock number, and therefore the table in not 3rd normal. } } Can anyone clarify this for me? } You are correct. period. Michael Strother