How do you understand normalization? Not the definition — why is it needed, what problem does it solve?

Normalization is necessary to eliminate redundancy and anomalies when working with data in a database. It helps structure data so that each piece of information is stored in one place, making updates, deletions, and additions easier and error-free.

The problem that normalization addresses is data duplication and related difficulties: for example, if the same information is stored in multiple tables, all copies need to be updated when changes occur, which can lead to inconsistencies.

In practice, normalization allows:

• To avoid redundant data storage
• To ensure data integrity and consistency
• To simplify database maintenance and development

For example, instead of storing a customer's address in each order record, the address is stored in a separate customers table, and orders only store a reference to the customer. This reduces duplication and simplifies address updates.