Is there a term for a dimensions that solely transforms data?
For instance, I came across a dimension that transforms date data to different representations (e.g. an abbreviation for a fiscal year such an FY1 and other representations)?
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Is there a term for a dimensions that solely transforms data?
For instance, I came across a dimension that transforms date data to different representations (e.g. an abbreviation for a fiscal year such an FY1 and other representations)?
All dimensions in a datawarehouse solution basically exist because the end user want to be able to make decisions based on that dimension.
(In practice the end user would probably base his decisions on a combination of several dimensions).
And the dimensions that ends up in the final datawarehouse solution are themselves a result of a large data transformation proces.
that is:
sources
applying hierarchies)
So speaking of a dimension that solely tranforms data is for a start a vague way of describing the properties of a dimension, since it is a little unclear what is meant.
However with that in mind I acknowledge your question in that way that it makes us ask ourselves: could a “tranformation dimension” be a new type of dimension that exists in the datawarehouse?
Well if you think of your “tranformation dimension” as a dimension that is totally derived from another dimension, without the influence of the raw data, then the notion of “tranformation dimension” becomes more precise.
So in your case a dimension that transforms date data to different representations could correctly be referred to as a “tranformation dimension”.
For a more comprehensive list of dimension table types in datawarehousing check out this question:
What are the types of dimension tables in star schema design?