Understanding Target Dimension Table

Learn how to identify current target records.

Identifying Target Records

A target dimension table contains multiple records for the same source key. To differentiate a current version of a record from a historical version, the target dimension table uses a compound key, which includes the source key and either the effective date or the expiration date attribute. The ETL demo projects use the Valid From date attribute as part of the key.

Current Target Records

Each record in the source table is represented by exactly one current record in the target table. Only current records are relevant for SCD when checking the target dimension table. In the ETL demo projects the current records have a Valid To date of 9999-12-31.