Incremental vs Full Load in Data Warehouse (DW) and ETL Context

Incremental Load

Definition

• Incremental Load refers to the process of only loading the changed or new data since the last load.

Advantages

• Efficiency: Consumes less resources and time.
• Reduced Load: Lower impact on source systems.
• Real-time: Enables near real-time data availability.

Disadvantages

• Complexity: Requires tracking changes in the source data.
• Data Integrity: Risk of missing updates or deletes.

Use-Cases

• Real-time analytics
• Systems with resource constraints
• Full Load
  Definition
  Full Load refers to the process of loading the entire dataset from the source to the target each time.
  Advantages
  Simplicity: Easier to implement and manage.
  Data Integrity: Ensures complete refresh of data.
  Disadvantages
  Resource Intensive: Consumes more time and resources.
  Downtime: May require source system to be offline.
  Use-Cases
  Initial data population
  Systems where data integrity is critical
  Code Example