Which statement accurately describes ETL and ELT?

Which statement accurately describes ETL and ELT?

• A. ETL loads raw data into the destination before transforming
• B. ELT requires no staging area
• C. ETL and ELT are the same process
• D. ETL transforms before loading; ELT loads raw data and then transforms within the destination

Answer: (D)

The key idea here is where the data transformation happens in the integration workflow. ETL transforms the data in a separate processing step before loading it into the destination, often using a staging area to hold and shape the data first. ELT, on the other hand, loads the raw data into the destination first and then performs the transformation inside the destination using its processing capabilities. That makes the statement describing ETL as transforming before loading and ELT as loading raw data and then transforming within the destination the correct one. The other options don’t fit: loading raw data before transforming isn’t ETL, ELT doesn’t universally require no staging area, and ETL and ELT are not the same process.

The key idea here is where the data transformation happens in the integration workflow. ETL transforms the data in a separate processing step before loading it into the destination, often using a staging area to hold and shape the data first. ELT, on the other hand, loads the raw data into the destination first and then performs the transformation inside the destination using its processing capabilities. That makes the statement describing ETL as transforming before loading and ELT as loading raw data and then transforming within the destination the correct one. The other options don’t fit: loading raw data before transforming isn’t ETL, ELT doesn’t universally require no staging area, and ETL and ELT are not the same process.