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Don’t Truncate Facts and Dimensions when Loading Data

Meagan Longoria explains why a truncate-and-reload strategy for data warehouses isn’t a good look:

Every once in a while, I come across a data warehouse where the data load uses a full truncate and reload pattern to populate a fact or dimension. While it may not be the end of the world for a small table, it does concern me and I usually recommend to redesign the load. My thoughts below on why this is an anti-pattern are true for using the actual TRUNCATE TABLE statement as well as executing a DELETE statement with no WHERE clause.

Read on for some great advice, including an exception to the rule.