WHAT IS A DATA WAREHOUSE?

We will start by giving a definition of data warehousing, and then we'll go on to explore the definition by comparing and contrasting the features of a data warehouse with the features of operational systems that we have already described.

The accepted definition of a data warehouse (attributed to Bill Inmon, 1992) is a database that contains the following four characteristics:

  1. Subject oriented

  2. Nonvolatile

  3. Integrated

  4. Time variant

Subject oriented means that the data is organized around subjects (such as Sales) rather than operational applications (such as order processing). Operational databases are organized around business application; they are application oriented.

Recall the five queries that the directors have identified ...

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