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Data & Analytics · Intermediate

Denormalization

Intentionally adding redundancy, for example by merging tables or duplicating columns, to speed reads and simplify queries.

Definition

Denormalization trades storage and write complexity for fewer joins and faster analytic queries. It is standard in data warehouses, star schemas, Power BI semantic models and many NoSQL designs. Integrity must then be maintained by ETL or application logic.

Example

Copying ProductCategory into the Product dimension instead of keeping a separate Category table.

Exam tip

If a question prioritizes reporting performance over update integrity, denormalization is usually correct.

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