The Semantic Layer
Positioned after the data has been modeled in a data warehouse or lakehouse, the semantic layer acts as a performance-enhancing data querying layer for reporting, offering a more efficient and business-friendly view of the data. By employing aggregations, calculations, and business-oriented terms and concepts, the semantic layer simplifies the complexity of technical data structures and caters to the needs of business users. The end result is a well-defined data model that effectively translates the underlying data structures of the warehouse or lakehouse into business-oriented terms. The value of this is to allow reports to more quickly query and visualize data, as well as allow business people to understand the data structures and extract insights from them.
In this chapter, we’re going to cover the following main topics:
- Multidimensional versus tabular models
- The VertiPaq engine for tabular models
- Modes in tabular models
- Tools for...
