Is 2NF a Stable Normal Form?

Abstract

Traditionally, it was accepted that a relational database can be normalized step-by-step, from a set of un-normalized tables to tables in $1NF$, then to $2NF$, then to $3NF$, then (possibly) to $BCNF$. The rule applied to a table in $1NF$ in order to transform it to a set of tables in $2NF$ seems to be too straightforward to pose any difficulty. However, we show that, depending on the set of functional dependencies, it is impossible to reach $2NF$ and stop there; one must, in these cases, perform the normalization from $1NF$ to $3NF$ as an indecomposable move. The minimal setup to exhibit the phenomena requires a single composite key, and two partially overlapping chains of transitive dependencies.