Faktataululla

Faktataululla is a term used in Finnish data warehousing and business intelligence to refer to the fact table in a dimensional data model. The fact table is the central repository for quantitative measurements about business processes and is typically used in star and snowflake schemas. Each row represents a specific occurrence at a defined level of detail (the grain) and includes numerical metrics such as sales_amount, quantity_sold, or inventory_value.

Etymology and usage: The word combines fakta (fact) and taulu (table); the adessive form faktataululla is used in Finnish to describe data contained in or associated with the fact table. In practice, faktataululla conveys the concept of measurements that can be aggregated along dimensions defined by related tables.

Structure and grain: A fact table usually contains foreign keys to related dimension tables (for example date, product, store, and customer) and one or more measured values. The grain determines the uniqueness of each row; for instance, a daily sales fact by product and store would have one row per product-store-day combination. Some designs also include degenerate dimensions, such as an order_id, and optional attributes like transaction flags.

Measures and types: Measures in a faktataululla are typically additive (e.g., sales_amount, quantity) but may include semi-additive or non-additive values (e.g., account balance). The table may also store metadata such as currency, cost, or discounts, depending on analytical needs.

Modeling considerations: Important factors include ensuring consistent grain across the fact table and related dimensions, using surrogate keys where appropriate, and optimizing performance through partitioning and indexing. Fact tables are complemented by dimension tables that provide descriptive context for reporting and analytics.

See also: Dimensional modeling, star schema, snowflake schema, factless fact table.