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Are all attributes dependent on the whole key?
1) True
2) False

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The statement that all attributes dependent on the whole key is generally true in the context of a table that is in second normal form or higher in database normalization, where every non-prime attribute must fully depend on the entire candidate key.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks whether all attributes dependent on the whole key is a true or false statement. The context of this question is related to database design, specifically referring to the concept of normalization in relational databases. Typically, in the context of second normal form (2NF) and beyond, every non-prime attribute must depend on the whole of a candidate key, not just part of it. With that being said, if the context is a table that is in 2NF or higher, the statement 'all attributes dependent on the whole key' would be true, as per the definition of 2NF which requires that all non-prime attributes are fully functionally dependent on the entire candidate key of a table. However, if the table is still in the first normal form (1NF), it is possible for some attributes to be dependent only on a part of the key, which is known as a partial dependency, and should be removed to achieve 2NF. So the strict truth value of the statement can vary depending on the normal form of the database table in question.

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