Relational Schema Design and Normalization Questions

Designing schemas for relational databases and applying normalization principles to reduce redundancy and maintain data integrity. Candidates should understand the normal forms including first normal form, second normal form, third normal form, and Boyce Codd normal form; primary keys, foreign keys, referential integrity, and how to model relationships such as one to one, one to many, and many to many using junction tables. Coverage includes entity relationship modeling, data modeling techniques, handling hierarchical or recursive data, choosing appropriate data types, and recognizing normalization violations in poorly designed schemas. Also discuss practical denormalization trade offs for performance, when and how to intentionally denormalize, designing schemas for maintainability and common query patterns, and considerations for analytics schemas such as star schemas and slowly changing dimensions.