Storing multiple values for a single field in a database

Question

Suppose i have a table with 3 fields

Person_id, Name and address. Now the problem is that a person can have multiple addresses. and the principle of atomic values says that data should be atomic.

So then how am i suppose to store multiple addresses for a single person ?

Solution 1

You're supposed to create an ADDRESS table that has a foreign key linking it to a PERSON record, i.e. PERSON_ID. This is the "relational" component of a relational database, and it's why it's more flexible than a flat file (which is like a single table).

Solution 2

Put adresses in a second table, give each adress a "Person ID", so that mutiple rows in the adress-table can referr to on person.