Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

The need to perform ad hoc data analysis and provide multidimensional views of data has led to the availability of Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) products. OLAP variants include Relational OLAP (ROLAP), where data is presented in cubes with dimensions but is actually stored in a relational database, Multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP), where data is presented in a similar way but stored in a multidimensional database, and a hybrid form of ROLAP and MOLAP called HOLAP. Although I am using the generic term OLAP, my focus in this section is on MOLAP.

Unlike data warehouse queries, which may run for many minutes or even hours, OLAP servers typically return results in seconds or less. Fast response times are usually ...

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