RE: Databases (off "last message")

["Burke, Jason" <JBurke@lrs.com>]

According to my partner in crime at work here (he's a DBA)
a multidimensional database has a different structure than
a regular relational database, and it's mainly used for data
mining, and very large informational structures. It was my
understanding that the back end doesn't change only the
data structure (in other words you can have one on Oracle).

Let me know if you want more info, and I'll pick the DBA's
brain a little more.

Jason

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Jeff Licquia [SMTP:jeff@luci.org]
> Sent:	Monday, May 24, 1999 12:25 AM
> To:	luci-discuss@luci.org
> Subject:	Re: Databases (off "last message")
> 
> 
> On 21 May, Jay Link wrote:
> > Can someone explain to me some ways in which a multidimensional database
> > differs from a standard SQL one? Is it simply that SQL can only handle a
> > few variables at once, while OLAP can do several things (people born in
> > August -vs- people under the age of 6 with red hair who were born at St.
> > John's in August)?
> > 
> > Is there anything for Linux that uses OLAP at this time?
> 
> I'm not sure what you mean by "multidimensional".
> 
> SQL databases can support really complex queries, such as your second
> one.  SQL is a query language, with statements looking like:
> 
> SELECT * FROM MyData FOR MONTH(BIRTH) = 8 AND AGE < 6 AND HAIR = 'R'
>   AND BIRTH_HOSPITAL = "St. John's"
> 
> (that's a sample of what your second query might look like in SQL)
> 
> 
> 
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