Re: Data Warehouse and Constraints

From: Phil Herring <revdoc_at_uow.edu.au>
Date: 1997/12/18
Message-ID: <67c9va$b6t$1@wyrm.its.uow.edu.au>#1/1

In article <67attk$7n0$1_at_hermes.is.co.za> Billy Verreynne, vslabs_at_onwe.co.za writes:
>Nope, I don't bother with fk's at all. It's not the warehouse's job to check
>OLTP data IMO.

There are three good reasons to check your warehouse data.

	One, foreign keys can be used by some query tools, which
	makes life easier for your clients when they're composing
	queries. 

	Two, the folks that own the OLTP applications may actually
	appreciate being told about errors in their data; FKs help
	you do this, and the associated costs are usually quite low.
	
	Three, it allows you to furnish a measure of your data's
	accuracy to your customers, which is of great value in any
	DSS.

Of course, YMMV. As Billy says, it may not be feasible to do much checking in the time that you have for your loads.

Received on Thu Dec 18 1997 - 00:00:00 CST