Armstrong’s Axiom

What Does Armstrong’s Axiom Mean?

Armstrong’s Axiom is a mathematical notation used to find the functional dependencies in a database. Conceived by William W. Armstrong, it is a list of axioms or inference rules that can be implemented on any relational database. It is denoted by the symbol F+.

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Techopedia Explains Armstrong’s Axiom

Armstrong’s Axiom is used to analyze, refine and maintain relational databases. It has three major modes or inferences applied on a set of data. They are as follows:

  • Axiom of Reflexivity: If user name (A) and title (B) represent a person’s name, then the relationship between both (A and B) is of little importance.
  • Axiom of Augmentation: If a user ID defines a person’s name, then the user ID with email quota define the person’s name and email quota.
  • Axiom of Transitivity: If a user ID determines a person’s name, and a person’s name defines the department, then the department can define the user ID.
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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…