Star Schema The Complete Reference

CHAPTER 2Data Warehouse Architectures

There is a wide range of opinion regarding the optimal data warehouse architecture. Opinions are sometimes so strongly held that a colleague of mine often refers to a “religious war” in data warehousing. That may overstate things, but everyone will agree to this: data warehouse architectures vary widely.

One of the ways in which data warehouse architectures diverge is in their use of dimensional design. Some architectures place a heavier emphasis on the star schema, while others use it in a limited capacity. The principles of dimensional design are the same, wherever they are put to use. This book is concerned with these principles.

With a diversity of architectures, however, comes confusion. The same terms ...