Now that you have developed a fair understanding of databases, you might be wondering how a data warehouse and a database differ from each other.
So, in this segment, you will learn exactly which features of a data warehouse differentiate it from a regular database. In the upcoming video, our expert will talk about the differences between a transactional database and a data warehouse.
So, in the video, you learnt about the differences between a transactional database (i.e., OLTP, or Online Transactional Processing) and a data warehouse (which is often referred to as OLAP, or Online Analytical Processing). Notice that the major difference between OLAP and OLTP is apparent in the names themselves: OLTP is used for day-to-day transactions, whereas OLAP is used for analytical purposes.
Earlier, you were introduced to the terms dimensional modelling and star schema. They are essential for creating the structure of a data warehouse. These techniques involve finding out the variables on which analysis can be performed and then combining them with the metadata to derive meaningful insights. You will learn more about them in the next session.
Additional Resources:
- You can go Data Warehousing Concepts to learn more about a data warehouse and its characteristics.
- You can go OLTP vs. OLAP to learn more about the differences between OLAP and OLTP systems.
In this way, you have understood about OLTP and OLAP system. In the next segment, you will learn about the SETL (Select, Extract, Transform and Load).