ODDS Case Study

A flat file database describes any of various means to encode a database model (most commonly a table) as a single file. Example of a flat file model A flat file can be a plain text file, usually containing one record per line, or it can be binary file. Within such a record, the singleness can be separated by delimiters such as comma or tab characters, or may have a fixed length. In the latter case, short values may be padded with space characters. Extra formatting may be needed to avoid delimiter collision.

There are usually no structural relationships between the records.

Typical examples of flat files are /etc/passed and [etc/ group on Unix-like operating systems. Another example of a flat file is a name-and- address list with the fields Name, Address, and Phone Number. A list of names, addresses, and phone numbers written by hand on a sheet of paper is a flat file database. This can also be done with any typewriter or word processor.

A spreadsheet or text editor program may be used to implement a flat file database, Inch may then be printed or used online for improved search capabilities. A data warehouse or enterprise data warehouse (DO, DUH, or DEW) is database used for reporting and data analysis.

It is a central repository of data Inch is created by integrating data from one or more disparate sources. Data Morehouse store current as well as historical data and are used for creating trending reports for senior management reporting such as annual and quarterly comparisons. The data stored in the warehouse are uploaded from the operational systems (such as marketing, sales etc. , shown in the figure to the right).

The data may pass through informational data store for additional operations before they are used n the DO for reporting.

The typical TTL-based data warehouse uses staging, data integration, and access layers to house its key functions. The staging layer or staging database stores raw data extracted from each of the disparate source data systems. Rhea integration layer integrates the disparate data sets by transforming the data from the staging layer often storing this transformed data in an operational data store (ODDS) database. The integrated data are then moved to yet another database, often called the data warehouse database, where the data is arranged into hierarchical groups often called dimensions and into facts and aggregate facts.

The combination of facts and dimensions is sometimes called a star schema.

The access layer helps users retrieve data. Database administrator A database administrator (short form DAB) is a person responsible for the installation, configuration, upgrade, administration,monitoring and maintenance of databases in an organization . The role includes the development and design of database strategies, system monitoring and improving database performance and capacity, and planning tort torture expansion requirements They may also plan, co- ordinate and implement security measures to safeguard the database.