OLAP vs. OLTP: An Overview

OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) systems are designed for real-time transactional data entry and management—such as sales, orders, and user activity.
OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) systems focus on fast querying, aggregation, and analytical reporting using large volumes of historical data.

Comparison Table

Feature	OLTP	OLAP
Main Purpose	Day-to-day transaction processing	Data analysis and decision support
Data Modification	Frequent (insert, update, delete)	Infrequent (mainly read, occasional batch updates)
Query Type	Simple, short queries	Complex, multi-dimensional queries
Data Volume	Usually smaller, current data	Large volumes, historical data
Normalization	Highly normalized	De-normalized for performance
Examples	Banking/ATM systems, Online stores	Business Intelligence, Data Warehouses

When To Use Each?

Use OLTP for applications requiring fast data entry, reliability, and integrity in transactional workloads.
Use OLAP when you need to perform complex analyses, reporting, and data mining across vast historical datasets.