Traditionally, ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes data before loading it into a destination, such as a database. However, this approach has some drawbacks:
- Upfront Transformation: ETL transforms data before loading, limiting flexibility for future transformations or evolving analytical needs.
- Limited Data Exploration: Since ETL transformed data first, raw data is discarded, making it harder to explore historical data for new insights.
Empowered by growing computational power, ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) is becoming the standard for data processing. pfeed leverages this by storing raw data in columnar formats, allowing you to perform complex transformations with high performance and low costs using tools like DuckDB, Polars and Spark.