What is Data Lake?
A storage system that holds large amounts of raw data in its original format until it is needed.
Why It Matters
Data lakes let you store everything cheaply now and decide how to use it later, supporting future analysis needs.
Real-World Example
Storing raw website logs, customer interactions, and IoT sensor data in a data lake for future analysis.
“Understanding terms like Data Lake matters because it helps you have better conversations with developers and make smarter decisions about your software. You do not need to be technical. You just need to know enough to ask the right questions.”
Related Terms
Data Warehouse
A large database optimised for storing and analysing historical data from multiple sources.
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
A process that extracts data from sources, transforms it into a useful format, and loads it into a destination.
Data Pipeline
An automated series of steps that moves and processes data from one system to another.
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Related Terms
Data Warehouse
A large database optimised for storing and analysing historical data from multiple sources.
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
A process that extracts data from sources, transforms it into a useful format, and loads it into a destination.
Data Pipeline
An automated series of steps that moves and processes data from one system to another.
Database
An organised collection of data that your application can store, retrieve, and update
SQL
A language for communicating with databases, used to create, read, update, and delete data
NoSQL
Databases that store data differently from traditional tables, often as flexible documents or key-value pairs