August 17, 2010 at 4:52 am
Hi
I have a question on Data warehousing - Dimension Types. I am interested to know what are different types of Dimesnions that can be used in Data warehousing.
I am aware of three different types of Dimensions -
1. Confirmed Dimension
2. Junk Dimension
3. Degenerated Dimension
Is this list correct or are there any more types? Please advice.
Thanks very much,
Puja
August 17, 2010 at 9:45 am
PrincessPuja (8/17/2010)
I have a question on Data warehousing - Dimension Types. I am interested to know what are different types of Dimesnions that can be used in Data warehousing.I am aware of three different types of Dimensions -
1. Confirmed Dimension
2. Junk Dimension
3. Degenerated Dimension
Is this list correct or are there any more types? Please advice.
Depending on the author you may get anything in between nine to a dozen "types" of dimensions - not to mention sub-types like Slowly Changing Dimensions of the Type 0, 1, 2 and 3.
_____________________________________
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.August 19, 2010 at 6:28 am
Thanks Paul for your reply. Great help!
Puja
August 20, 2010 at 6:42 am
You'll find a great explanation of the different dimension types in Kimball's book "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" (2nd edition).
Actually, to be precise, a dimension is not of SCD type 1,2,3 or hybrid, it's attributes are. A dimension can have a combination of different types of SCD. For example, the customer gender and name are SCD Type 1, but the address is type 2.
More dimensions, next to those you already mentioned:
* mini dimension
* monster dimension
(* a special table to link different dimensions with many-to-many relationships: the bridge table) --> not really a dimension
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
August 20, 2010 at 9:09 am
:-D:-D
You are scaring the girl!!!
Raunak J
August 21, 2010 at 9:01 am
Thanks da-zero for clarification. will read that book!
@Raunak - Every little helps!
August 22, 2010 at 6:45 am
da-zero (8/20/2010)
Actually, to be precise, a dimension is not of SCD type 1,2,3 or hybrid, it's attributes are. A dimension can have a combination of different types of SCD. For example, the customer gender and name are SCD Type 1, but the address is type 2.
Actually, to be precise, SCD types refer to the chosen method to track changes therefore they are related to the object and not to the attributes.
A hybrid SCD type 6 is nothing but the single implementation of Types 1,2 and 3 (1+2+3=6) for a specific object a.k.a. table.
Hope this clarifies.
_____________________________________
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.August 22, 2010 at 9:08 am
Type 6 SCD transformation are very very specific.
Seldom the need arises to maintain a history table.
Puja...you know my comment was on a lighter note...we allare here to help each other....
I would suggest that you familiarize yourself with...
What is fact, fact table, dimension, dimension table and most important what goes into fact/dimension table.
Once you set the right momentum...you'll find your learning curve smooth enough to model the same into advanced analytics.
Raunak J
August 22, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Raunak Jhawar (8/22/2010)
Type 6 SCD transformation are very very specific.Seldom the need arises to maintain a history table.
I do not like history tables either - talking here about a data warehouse environment but, History Tables refer to a SCD of the Type 4.
_____________________________________
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.Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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