What is the difference between a data warehouse and a database?
Following is an industry definition of a data warehouse, which makes a clear distinction between a data warehouse and a database: “So, what is a data warehouse? Basically, a data warehouse is a collection of data with certain characteristics. This collection of data is typically used for analysis purposes, is subject-oriented, time-variant, integrated and cleansed to conform to a standard understanding or definition of content and meaning, and optimized to support the analysis/DSS/BI tools and functions of an organization….Most data warehouses will contain vast amounts of historical data, from three to as many as ten years’ worth. A database is also a collection of data. However, that is about the limit of the commonality between the two entities. While a data warehouse can be, and usually is, implemented in a database, there are many other databases in most organizations which do not qualify as data warehouses. These databases are the OLTP databases that support the daily business a
