Database textbooks and tutorials emphasize the need to ensure normalization of the database. While database designers and database administrators will generally ensure that their databases follow best practices relative to normalization, many production databases in use today have ignored normalization. Some people will argue that a denormalized production database reflects poor design, while others will argue that good database architects will knowingly deploy a denormalized database under the right circumstances. After completing the textbook reading and performing some research on the topic of database normalization, discuss your thoughts on the topic of deploying a denormalized database versus a normalized database. Under what circumstances, if any, do you consider it reasonable to deploy a denormalized database? To what extent will your final project’s database be normalized and why?

Specifically, address the following critical elements:

1. Define, analyze, and compare a denormalized database and a normalized database.

2. Define the circumstances under which you consider it reasonable to deploy a denormalized database, or explain why you feel it is not reasonable to do so.

3. Explain the extent to which your final project’s database will be normalized and why.