OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)
Analytical access pattern: few heavyweight queries that scan enormous record counts and compute aggregates (counts, sums, averages) — ad hoc, exploratory, run by analysts with raw SQL or BI tools.
What is it?
OLAP queries scan millions of rows and return aggregates, not individual records. Analysts get raw SQL or point-and-click BI tools (Tableau, Looker, Power BI). Data represents history over time; terabytes to petabytes. “Online” likely signals analyst interactivity. hybrids exist: product/real-time analytics systems (Pinot, Druid, ClickHouse) use analytical query shapes inside user-facing products, ingesting events in real time for low query latency.
What I learned
OLTP vs OLAP is a table of contrast (query shape, volume, users, data meaning, size), not just “reporting vs transactions”. Real-time analytics systems blur it by design.
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