Building and Managing the Meta Data Repository: A Full Lifecycle Guide [Anglais] [Broché]

The storage and management of Meta Data is a vitally important part of data warehouse development. However, the whole field of data warehousing has moved so rapidly in recent years that an agreed set of standards are still not yet in place. This means that David Marco's Building and Managing the Meta Data Repository is brave because the one certainty is that it will be out of date in short order. (In fact it is out of date already because it doesn't refer to the important announcement made recently by the OMG--Object Management Group--which points the way to embracing XML as the unifying factor). By the same token, any book that covers this important and rapidly changing field is worth reading if you need to get a feel for the issues involved.

Marco's definition of meta data is "knowledge of systems, business, competition, customers, products and markets", encompassing technical data to enable technical staff to maintain systems on a physical level and business data so users can access the data they need to run the business. Three chapters set the scene, describing meta data, its uses and the state of standards for meta data repositories. The remaining eight chapters deal in detail with implementation issues. So, if you are building a data warehouse, and don't know why meta data is important, this is an excellent book to buy.

Ultimately this is a worthwhile book for the information it contains, but the delivery can grate on the nerves in parts. --Mark Whitehorn

"This is the first book to tackle the subject of meta data in data warehousing, and the results are spectacular . . . David Marco has written about the subject in a way that is approachable, practical, and immediately useful. Building and Managing the Meta Data Repository: A Full Lifecycle Guide is an excellent resource for any IT professional." -Steve Murchie Group Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Meta data repositories can provide your company with tremendous value if they are used properly and if you understand what they can, and can't, do. Written by David Marco, the industry's leading authority on meta data and well-known columnist for DM Review, this book offers all the guidance you'll need for developing, deploying, and managing a meta data repository to gain a competitive advantage. After illustrating the fundamental concepts, Marco shows you how to use meta data to increase your company's revenue and decrease expenses. You'll find a comprehensive look at the major trends affecting the meta data industry, as well as steps on how to build a repository that is flexible enough to adapt to future changes. This vendor-neutral guide alsoincludes complete coverage of meta data sources, standards, and architecture, and it explores the full gamut of practical implementation issues.

DAVID MARCO is the industry's leading authority on meta data and the founder and President of Enterprise Warehousing Solutions, Inc., a Chicago-headquartered strategic partner and systems integrator. He is also a monthly columnist for DM Review magazine and is an international speaker on data warehousing.