from the text itself
Node A processing location in a network
Nonlinear format A format of text or reported values where the text or variables are
arranged in a nonlinear format
Nonrepetitive data Data whose records have no predictable pattern of structure or
content. Typical nonrepetitive records include e-mail, call center data, warranty claim
data, and insurance claim data
Nonvolatile data Data that once written cannot be changed. Sometimes called
“snapshot” data
Normalization The process of organizing data at its detailed level into according to its
existence criteria
Occurrence A specific instance of an entity type
OCR Optical character recognition
ODS Operational data store—a data structure that contains some of the properties of the
data warehouse and some of the properties of the operational system. As a rule, the ODS
is an optional structure that is found at some companies and not at others
OLAP Online analytical processing—this technique for analyzing business data uses
cubes, which are like multidimensional pivot tables in spreadsheets. OLAP tools can
perform trend analysis and enable drilling down into data. They enable multidimensional
analysis such as analyzing by time, product, and geography. The major types of OLAP
processing are MOLAP (multidimensional) and ROLAP (relational). HOLAP (hybrid)
processing combines them.
OLTP Online transaction processing—the environment where online transaction
processing is executed
Online response time The length of time from the moment an operator initiates a
transaction until that transaction returns output to the user
Online storage Storage devices that can be accessed directly and interactively
Glossary