Olap Without Cubes: Data Analysis in Non-cube Systems

In recent years information has steadily increased inimportance for modern day companies anddata-warehousing has been described by many as thehighest priority post-millennium IT project. Asprogressive companies are complex and deal with andin fast changing environments, oftentimes with arapidly growing database, questions regarding currentdata designs and approaches arise. Can technologiesdeveloped in the 1960s support today's and futuredemands? Author Sascha Mendack gives an introduction to theassociative model of data and how it could fulfil thefuture requirements of modern data-warehousing andreporting. He analyses the data model using the FASMItest by Nigel Pendse and compares its advantages anddisadvantages with the well known multidimensionaldata model. Following up the theoretical review hereviews an OLAP application that uses the new data model. This book is intended for everybody who is interestedin an introduction of the associative data model andis looking for new alternatives and approaches in thefield of OLAP.