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Using slowly changing dimension to load staging table

  • February 8, 2013 at 8:57 am

    #288958

    Can a slowly changing dimension be used to insert/update records into a staging table? I haven't used that transformation before and from what I read it was more used to load dimension tables. Thanks.

  • February 8, 2013 at 9:31 am

    #1586035

    rs80 (2/8/2013)

    Can a slowly changing dimension be used to insert/update records into a staging table? I haven't used that transformation before and from what I read it was more used to load dimension tables.

    You are correct, a Slowly Changing Dimension is a particular kind of DIMension table where depending on the SCD type history of each particular dimention is kept (or not).

    A Staging table, on the other hand, is by definition a table that gets truncated and re-populated on each ETL cycle therefore SCD does not applies to them.

    Hope this helps.

    _____________________________________
    Pablo (Paul) Berzukov

    Author of Understanding Database Administration available at Amazon and other bookstores.

    Disclaimer: Advice is provided to the best of my knowledge but no implicit or explicit warranties are provided. Since the advisor explicitly encourages testing any and all suggestions on a test non-production environment advisor should not held liable or responsible for any actions taken based on the given advice.

  • February 8, 2013 at 10:17 am

    #1586064

    Thanks Paul

  • February 8, 2013 at 10:32 am

    #1586071

    PaulB-TheOneAndOnly (2/8/2013)

    rs80 (2/8/2013)

    Can a slowly changing dimension be used to insert/update records into a staging table? I haven't used that transformation before and from what I read it was more used to load dimension tables.

    You are correct, a Slowly Changing Dimension is a particular kind of DIMension table where depending on the SCD type history of each particular dimention is kept (or not).

    A Staging table, on the other hand, is by definition a table that gets truncated and re-populated on each ETL cycle therefore SCD does not applies to them.

    Hope this helps.

    I do not entirely agree with this definition.

    I see no reason why staging tables cannot be updated, rather than truncated/repopulated, as data makes its way elsewhere - whatever is most efficient in the circumstances.

    The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
    - Martin Rees
    The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
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