OLAP and OLTP are online processing systems. However, there are prominent differences between them. OLAP and OLTP vary in their data, transaction, time, queries, and normalisation.
OLAP refers to an Online Analytical Processing system. In contrast, OLTP refers to the Online Transaction Processing system. There are several other differentiating factors between the two.
OLAP vs OLTP
The difference between OLAP and OLTP is that OLAP is an online analytical processor. On the other hand, OLTP is an online transaction processor. The transaction time for OLAP is relatively longer than that of OLTP. In addition, OLTP handles simple queries as compared to the OLAP system. OLAP is subject-oriented; OLTP is application-oriented.
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OLAP refers to an Online Analytical Processing system. The function of the OLAP database is to store the historical data input of OLTP.
OLAP is subject-oriented; it has a practical application in data mining, decision making, analytics and the like. In addition, it unveils snapshots of current business tasks. The data size is considerably large.
OLTP refers to the Online Transaction Processing system. OLTP serves the purpose of recording the current Update, Insertion, and Deletion while carrying out a transaction.
OLTP has practical applications in online banking, sending a text message, online airline ticket booking, and adding an item to the shopping cart. OLTP is application-oriented and has prominent use in businesses.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | OLAP | OLTP |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | OLAP refers to a database system which stores historical data input of OLTP. | OLTP refers to a database system that serves the purpose of recording the current Update, Insertion, and Deletion while carrying out a transaction. |
| Full Form | Online Analytical Processing system | Online Transaction Processing system |
| Transaction | OLAP has long transactions. | OLTP has short transactions. |
| Nature of Queries | OLAP database handles complex queries. | OLTP database handles rather simple queries. |
| Processing Time | The processing time of OLAP is longer than that for OLTP. | The processing time for OLTP is shorter than that for OLAP. |
| Data Integrity | Since the transactions in OLAP are less frequent, it doesn’t care much about data integrity. | OLTP database take data integrity as a serious concern. |
What is OLAP?
OLAP refers to an Online Analytical Processing system. The function of the OLAP database is to store the historical data input of OLTP.
It also enables users to assess different conclusions of multidimensional data. Another practical application of OLAP is it allows users to extract the necessary information for a large data set. It can, then, have a use for making decisions.
OLAP allows users to initiate complex queries to extract multi-dimensional data. Moreover, it serves as an online data retrieval and analysis system.
OLAP usually has long transactions and requires a longer processing time as compared to OLTP. Since the transactions in OLAP are less frequent, it doesn’t care much about data integrity.
Netflix movie recommendation system and the list of songs recommended by Spotify both are OLAP systems. OLAP is subject-oriented; it has a practical application in data mining, decision making, analytics and the like.
In addition, it unveils snapshots of current business tasks. The data size is considerably large. As a result, it is stored in TB or PB format.
OLAP systems require backup from time to time. Queries related to the OLAP database may take hours since the data amount is significantly large.
This kind of data, moreover, is usually maintained by MD, CEO, GM. In conclusion, the OLAP system rarely writes operations. At most times, it only reads operations.
What is OLTP?
OLTP refers to the Online Transaction Processing system. OLTP serves the purpose of recording the current Update, Insertion, and Deletion while carrying out a transaction.
One prominent feature of OLTP queries is that they are short and simple. As a result, they require less processing time. In addition, they require less space.
A common day example of OLTP is an ATM. It employs short term transactions to modify the status of our account. The OLTP system usually becomes the data source for the OLAP.
If a transaction in OLTP fails in the middle, it may affect data integrity. In addition, the OLTP database consists of normalised tables and gets frequent updates.
The main operations of OLTP are inserted, update, and delete. OLTP has practical applications in online banking, sending a text message, online airline ticket booking, and adding an item to the shopping cart.
OLTP is application-oriented and has prominent use in businesses. The size of data in an OLTP database is usually small, such as in MB or GB.
The backup and recovery process of OLTP has strict maintenance. Moreover, managers or clerks usually must maintain this data. An OLTP database both reads and writes operations.
OLTP also serves the function of handling the ACID properties during data transactions.
Main Differences Between OLAP and OLTP
- OLAP refers to a database system that stores the historical data input of OLTP. In contrast, OLTP serves the purpose of recording the current Update, Insertion, and Deletion while carrying out a transaction.
- Since the transactions in OLAP are less frequent, it doesn’t care much about data integrity. On the other hand, OLTP databases take data integrity as a serious concern.
- OLAP is subject-oriented; OLTP is application oriented.
- The processing time of OLAP is longer than that for OLTP. On the other hand, the processing time for OLTP is shorter than that for OLAP.
- OLAP has long transactions. In contrast, OLTP has long transactions.
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/1423297/
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=eskZA1CFdqMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=olap+meaning&ots=W5YldKBjQk&sig=_2sB0PO8s4Cd3I8q60m44vfa9Vc
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
