Third， there are tools for exploratory data analysis or data mining， in which a user looks for interesting patterns in the data. For example， an analyst looking at credit-card usage histories may want to detect unusual activity indicating misuse of a lost or stolen card. A catalog merchant may want to look at customer records to identify promising customers for a new promotion； this identification would depend on income levels， buying patterns， demonstrated interest areas， and so on. In situations such as these， although an analyst call recognize an "interesting pattern"when shown such a pattern， it is very difficult to formulate a query that captures the essence of an interesting pattern， and the amount of data is too large to permit manual analysis or even traditional statistical analysis.
Clearly， evaluating OLAP or data mining queries over globally distributed data is likely to be excruciatingly slow. Further， for such complex analysis， often statistical in nature， it is not essential that the most current version of tile data be used. The natural solution is to create a centralized repository of all the data， that is， a data warehouse. Thus the availability of a warehouse facilitates the application of OLAP and data mining tools， and conversely， the desire to apply such analysis tools is a strong motivation for building a data warehouse.
【New Words】
excruciatingly
极痛苦的，折磨人的
consolidate
巩固，加强
exploratory
探测的，探险的
formulation
明确表达，用公式表示
promotion
促进，发扬，提升
multidimensional
多面的，多维的
OLTP（On-lineTransactionProcession）
在线事务处理器
4.4 Database Website Rules
Year 2002 is the beginning of database website. Why would I call this year the beginning of “internet database”？ Didn’t we have database before？ Of course not！ Just ask yourself these questions： How did I build up my website？ How did I manage my product catalog？ Do I have a database in accounting department？ The answers are： I hired web engineers to design the website because I know nothing about HTML. My product catalog was always printed and was always outdated. And yes， there is indeed a database in accounting department but unfortunately only computers in that department have access to the database. That database has nothing to do with internet. More than 90% of the websites are as old as your grandmother. It is not that people who are in charge don't want to change， but simply because they don't know how to update the website contents. It requires art designers and system programmers to build a website. It is way too hard and also way too expensive. Not to mention the time it takes to do all that.
So， how can you change？ To be flank， these problems would have still remained tough if this software had not come out in the market. Solving these problems would have cost you millions of dollars plus professional maintenance in the future. How can a mid-size company with a low budget afford to own a descent website？ Traditionally， a website links its HTML pages altogether， that is， if you have a dozen kinds of products， you need a dozen of pages. So if you have a hundred kinds so if products to sell， you have a hundred pages to keep. It is definitely too much work and money！ No wonder that everyone knows the importance of having a website but instead of sticking to it， most of us just give up on it.
"Internet database website" is the best solution to all of the problems above. Internet could help you cut down the cost and enhance the efficiency therefore make you more competitive. An internet database creates a website， and then any changes in database will be modified synchronically on the website， in short， there is a database right behind the website. Having your information， which includes products and knowledge， controlled by internet is only way to survive after joining WTO. However， a great amount of invest does not guarantee the success of internet database. In other words， low costs should be the primary requirement， multi functions user-friendly interface should be the necessity.
Don't worry！ Database is not as complicated as you think it is. It is invisible like operation system and there's no need to understand， either. All operations will be processed on the net in a second. Someone else will no longer do the few things you know how to do like changing the price， models and pictures. That is the concept of database website！ From now on， if your management is still not on the internet， you are out-dated！ If your website is still as old as your grandmother， you are way behind the modem time！
【Vocabulary】
website
n. 网站
account
n. 计算，账目 vt. 说明
outdated
adj. 过时的，不流行的
catalog
n. 目录，目录册 vt. 编目录
mention
vt. 提及，说起
flank
n. 侧面，腰窝，侧腹
enhance
vt. 提高，增强
synchronically
adj. 限于一时的
complicated
adj. 复杂的，难解的
【参考译文】
数据库网站标准
数据库网站开始于 2002 年。为什么我说今年才是“互联网数据库”的开始？难道以前我们没有过数据库吗？当然不是！只要我们问自己几个问题：我们如何去建立的自己的网站？我们如何去管理我们的产品目录？在会计处，我们有数据库吗？答案都是：我请了网络工程师来为我设计网站，因为我对HTML一无所知。我的产品目录都总是被打印好的，也总是过期的。的确这样，在会计处确实有数据库，但是不巧的是只有那个部门里的计算机才能访问那个数据库，而且那种数据库跟互联网没有任何联系。90％以上的网站都与你的祖母一样年长。这不是因为管理人员不愿意作改变，而是因为他们不知道如何去更新网站内容。建立一个新网站需要艺术设计师和系统程序师。这是非常困难的，在花费上也是非常昂贵的，更不用说整个过程所耗费的时间了。
因此，你要通过什么来改变呢？坦白地说，如果现在这种软件还没有面市，这些问题仍然会很棘手。解决这些问题再加上将来专业化的维修需要花费你数百万美元。对于一个预算很低的中型公司，怎么能负担起一个世代相传的网站？一般意义上说，网站通常是跟它的 HTML 页连在一起的，也就是说你需要 10个HTML页来满足10个产品的需要。由此可以推出，如果你有100种产品准备出售，你就要准备100个HTML页来保存。这的确消耗了非常多的劳动力和金钱。这就是之所以许多人都知道拥有一个网站的重要性而大部分还是选择了放弃而不是坚持下去的原因。
“互联网数据库网站”就是解决以上问题的最好的办法。互联网可以帮助你减少花费提高效率，从而使你变得更加有竞争力。一个互联网数据库创建一个网站，而且在网站上，数据库的任何一个改变都能够得到同步的修正。简而言之，就是在互联网站的后面有一个数据库。加入WTO 之后，唯一可以存活下来的方法就是：让互联网控制你所有的信息——包括你的产品和知识。不管怎样，即便是大量的投资也不能保证来自互联网数据库的成功。换言之，低花费应该是初步必要条件，多功能的用户友好界面也应该是必要的。
我们也不用担心！数据库并不是像你想象中的那么复杂。它像操作系统一样是看不见的，所以我们也没有必要去搞懂它。所有操作将会在一秒钟内在网上进行处理。你所知道的诸如更改价格、模式和图片等一些事情都不用再麻烦别人代劳了。这就是数据库网站的概念！从今以后如果你的管理还没有在互联网上进行，那么你就落伍了！如果你的网站还是同你的祖母具有相同的年龄，那么你也已经被时代所淘汰了！
【Reading Material】
