CODEWITHSUNDEEP
data-warehousedimensional-modeling
Lauren Buxton
Lauren Buxton

Reputation: 95

A datawarehouse without measures

Am I doing this correctly? There's no measure so this is throwing me off a bit.

I am designing my database to hold records of user profiles. The Users can come in and edit profile on a front end portal that links to the this DB when records are edited/updated/deleted. The DB also needs to produce XML feeds for a public website.

The warehouse:

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Upvotes: 0

Views: 834

Answers (2)

Jo Douglass
Jo Douglass

Reputation: 2085

While you absolutely can have a fact table without measures - as RaduM has linked to an explanation of - if you have no measures anywhere in your model I would question whether this database should use a dimensional model at all.

Dimensional models are intended for BI functions - data analysis, reporting, feeding into cubes, etc. Your description in a later comment about the use of this database seems to suggest this database is actually just the back end database for a website? If so, I would suggest avoiding dimensional modelling altogether. A standard normalised data model is likely to be far more suitable.

Data warehouses are normally secondary datastores which are not your live application database. Data is pulled from your primary sources into the data warehouse for reporting and analytics needs.

Transactional databases - like the one you are describing - are generally modelled in a more standard and more highly normalised manner. The usual gold standard is third normal form or higher. If you're unclear on the rules of database normalisation and the concept of third normal form, then I would strongly suggest that you obtain some training on this (there are online tutorials around if you search), and then have a crack at remodelling your scenario in this way. If you get stuck, post up a new question with the problem(s) you're running into.

You might also find this previous question helpful - it describes the difference between OLTP and OLAP. While you're not using OLAP, dimensional models are often used as the the RDBMS layer behind an OLAP database:

What are OLTP and OLAP. What is the difference between them?

Upvotes: 0

Radu Maftei
Radu Maftei

Reputation: 81

Yes, a fact table can exist without measures, it is called a factless fact table.

Please inform more on : http://www.kimballgroup.com/data-warehouse-business-intelligence-resources/kimball-techniques/dimensional-modeling-techniques/factless-fact-table/ and other documentation.

Upvotes: 1

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