September 2001
Beginner
544 pages
17h 43m
English
Content preview from DATA WAREHOUSING FUNDAMENTALS: A Comprehensive Guide for IT Professionals
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10.4. STAR SCHEMA KEYS
Figure 10-13 illustrates how the keys are formed for the dimension and fact tables.
10.4.1. Primary Keys
Each row in a dimension table is identified by a unique value of an attribute designated as the primary key of the dimension. In a product dimension table, the primary key identifies each product uniquely. In the customer dimension table, the customer number identifies each customer uniquely. Similarly, in the sales representative dimension table, the social security number of the sales representative identifies each sales representative.
We have picked these out as possible candidate keys for the dimension tables. Now let us consider some implications of these candidate keys. Let us assume that the product code in the operational system is an 8-position code, two of which positions indicate the code of the warehouse where the product is normally stored, and two other positions denote the product category. Let us see what happens if we use the operational system product code as the primary key for the product dimension table.
Figure 10-13. The STAR schema keys.
The data warehouse contains historic data. Assume that the product code gets changed in the middle of a year, because the product is now stored in a different warehouse of the company. So we have to change the product code in the data warehouse. If the product code is the primary key of the product ...
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