Fact table types

By capturing the daily operational transactions of an organization, fact tables tend to contain large amounts of records that are constantly growing. By analyzing the data in fact tables, analysts and business users glean insights into business performance and identify trends and patterns. Considering these demands, fact tables must be designed in such a way that balances data loading efficiency with analytical needs and query patterns.

After nearly 20 years and three editions, the definitive guide to designing fact tables remains The Data Warehouse Toolkit. In it, authors Ralph Kimball and Margy Ross expertly cover the fundamentals of dimensional modeling, fact table design, and related industry case studies. This chapter will not attempt to replicate the content to which Kimball and Ross have dedicated nearly a quarter of their book. Instead, we will focus on what The Data Warehouse Toolkit does not cover: database-specific transformations for managing and maintaining...