ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
A three-phase data pipeline pattern: extract raw data from source systems, transform it into the required format, and load it into a destination. Every automation that moves data between tools is performing some version of ETL.
Expert insight
Traditional ETL (transform before loading) has increasingly given way to ELT (load raw data first, transform afterward) in modern data stacks, because storage is cheap and keeping the raw, untransformed data means you can fix a transformation bug retroactively without re-extracting from the source system, which isn't possible if the raw data was discarded after the original transform.
In a real workflow
Each night, sales data is extracted from Stripe, transformed into monthly totals and loaded into the reporting database.
Common mistakes
- Transforming in ways nobody can reproduce.
- No alerts when a load fails.
Complexity level
Requires some familiarity with automation concepts.
Related terms
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