OLAP
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Data & Database
| Stands for | Online analytical processing |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
OLAP stands for Online analytical processing, a data & database abbreviation.
Software and techniques for fast multidimensional analysis of large datasets, such as slicing sales by region, product and month. OLAP systems support aggregation, drill-down and pivoting in business intelligence tools.
Example: The finance team uses an OLAP cube to drill from annual revenue down to individual stores.
Usage notes
Edgar F. Codd coined the term in 1993. Classic products built precomputed "cubes" (MOLAP), while relational OLAP queries star schemas directly; columnar cloud warehouses now answer many such queries without cubes. It is contrasted with OLTP, which handles day-to-day transactions.
Related abbreviations
More data & database abbreviations
- MDM – Master data management
- MPP – Massively parallel processing
- MSSQL – Microsoft SQL Server
- MVCC – Multiversion concurrency control
- ODBC – Open Database Connectivity
- ODS – Operational data store
- OLTP – Online transaction processing
- PK – Primary key
- PL/SQL – Procedural Language/SQL
- QPS – Queries per second
- RDBMS – Relational database management system
- RDF – Resource Description Framework