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Data & Analytics · Advanced

Multivalued Dependency (MVD)

A constraint where one attribute determines a set of values for another attribute, independent of the other attributes.

Definition

X ->-> Y means each X value is associated with a set of Y values regardless of other columns. When a table contains two independent MVDs on the same key, it violates 4NF.

Exam tip

Functional dependency = determines one value; multivalued dependency = determines a set of values.

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