Final answer:
BCNF stands for Boyce-Codd Normal Form, which is a more advanced form of the third normal form in database normalization. It ensures that there are no dependency anomalies even when a table has a composite or multi-valued candidate key. BCNF is essential for maintaining the integrity and consistency of the data in a database.
Step-by-step explanation:
BCNF stands for Boyce-Codd Normal Form. It is an advanced version of the third normal form (3NF) in database normalization. BCNF addresses certain types of dependency anomalies that are not covered by 3NF. To be in Boyce-Codd Normal Form, a table must satisfy the requirements of 3NF, and additionally, for any dependency A -> B, A should be a superkey; that is, A should be a key that uniquely identifies a row in the table. If a table contains a composite key, then every determinant must be a candidate key.
Normalization is a critical process in database design that helps reduce redundancy and dependency, thus ensuring the integrity and consistency of the data. The main goal of BCNF is to handle the cases where a 3NF table still has some dependency anomaly due to a multi-valued candidate key. In simple terms, the BCNF helps to further ensure that the database contains no unnecessary duplication of data and to protect it against certain types of data inconsistencies.