Is it always necessary to adhere to normal forms when designing a database?

Normal forms (NF) in database design help avoid redundancy and update anomalies. However, it is not always necessary to strictly adhere to normal forms.

When can you deviate from normal forms:

• To improve read performance (denormalization).
• In systems with a high number of read requests and minimal updates.
• When complex JOIN operations negatively impact speed.

It is important to balance normalization and performance, considering the specific requirements of the application. Usually, a database is designed in normal forms and then optimized if necessary.