Object-Oriented Data Warehouse Design: Building A Star Schema (Hardcover)

by William A. Giovinazzo (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Written for any database developer or IS manager planning to build a data warehouse, Object-Oriented Data Warehouse Design provides just the right level of detail. Mixing practical advice for project management with a remarkably clear explanation of how data warehouses store information, this book fits the bill for anyone who wants to deliver a working system that fits the needs of its users.

Data warehouses are often plagued with failure, the author argues, and his prescription for success is what makes this title worthwhile. First on the agenda is a concise tour of project management techniques (using today's iterative software methodologies) along with a practical guide to what's in store for the potential data warehouse architect as he or she works within the enterprise to combine data from disparate sources. (The author's candid sample interviews with different users of a hypothetical warehouse are alone worth the price of the book.)

The remarkably clear diagrams for understanding how data is stored in a "cube" (or hypercube) within a data warehouse will help any developer or manager understand the underlying theoretical design issues. Combined with a sample star schema for a real-estate brokerage firm, this title also demonstrates a distinctly practical side. (There are numerous pages listing the specifics of tables needed for the sample project.) You'll also be able to understand the traditional star schema, where dimensions are used to query large fact tables, plus when to implement snowflake schemas to improve performance.

This concise and well-diagrammed book can let virtually anyone understand how warehouses work; the material on project management may save the day in your next data warehouse project. Filled with practical information, Object-Oriented Data Warehouse Design will be a valuable resource for any developer or project manager. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to data warehouses, advantages and design issues, decision support systems (DSS), online analytical processing (OLAP), data mining, iterative development techniques, metadata and metadata standards, object modeling, analysis and design, case study and sample interviews with data warehouse stakeholders, multiple dimensions and dimension tables, cubes and hypercubes, slicing and dicing, constellation/star vs. snowflake schemas, fact tables, design hints, parallel processing for data warehousing, star query optimization, data warehousing on the Web, and checklist for successful data warehouse design.

Product Description
Designed to help build a complete star schema data model-from initial analysis through implementation, make better decisions about granularity and precision, master dimensioning, hierarchies, and sizing. DLC: Data warehousing.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (February 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130850810
• ISBN-13: 978-0130850812
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #676,014 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get It Right The First Time, March 5, 2000

By A Customer

If you are just playing at data warehousing, then get yourself a copy of one of those "The Doofus' Guide To Whatever" books. But, if you want to successfully implement an enterprise-level, mission-critical data warehouse, this is one book you will definitely want to have. "Object-Oriented Data Warehouse Design: Building A Star Schema" presented me with a new look at the whole Business Intelligence field. I am not even half way through and I can already see why some past projects ran into trouble and how I can avoid similar problems in the future.

And this is not one of those unreadable academic tomes that you put on your bookshelf to impress your boss. I have to agree with Bill Inmon's foreword that Giovinazzo "strikes a fine balance between theory and practicality. Theories are explained in the cloth of practicality. Rules of thumb and practical realities always have a touch of theory to explain the underlying philosophy." This is a very readable book with lots of immediately useful information without resorting to that "cookbook" approach. I especially enjoyed the discussion in Chapter 4, The Implementation Model, on multiple dimensions and translating them into a star schema. The whole object oriented approach to star schema design seems so logical, now that I have had it explained in such a clear, concise manner.

BTW, the other book I wouldn't be without is Ralph Kimball's "The Data Warehouse Toolkit". But if you can only get one, get this one. (And if you manage a DW, I'd seriously consider investing in a copy for every person on the project. I think you'll be glad you did.)

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The usual stuff on data warehousing, June 4, 2000

By A Customer

Calling this book "Object-Oriented..." is quite a stretch. This book has a several page description of object modeling. This description is the standard description that probably can be found in hundreds of other places. If you want to read an honest attempt to explain an object-oriented approach to data warehousing, read "The Data Warehouse Method".

Beyond that, the author has almost nothing new or particularly insightful to say about data warehousing. A large part of the book is given over to a discussion of dimensional modeling. Rather than build on what Ralph Kimball has written on the subject, the author just regurgitates what others have already written. If you want to read about dimensional modeling, read "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" and "Data Warehouse Design Solutions" rather than the retread material in this publication.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, March 6, 2000

By	Marc S Ottenville (Seal Beach, CA.) - See all my reviews

Great book. The author has provided a very good perspective on business intelligence and the issues relating to multidimensional data structures. Unlike others I've read on the subject, this book describes the actual process in detail. It gave me a great understanding of how to a set up a data structure based on the needs of the end user. I would recommend this book to anyone working in the world of business intelligence.