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0 pointsBjartr7mo ago0 comments

I started writing another comment and after looking at your links and was about to quote the definition at the top of "The Rise of the Semantic Layer" as a suggestion, but I realized that it actually isn't that far off, information-wise from the definition youve provided here.

So I took a step back and tried to think about why one "feels" to a reader more like a definition than the other. I think it comes down to phrasing more than informational content. The definition you provide in your comment comes off, for lack of a better term, too much like a sales pitch.

Less is more when it comes to definitions, at least for defining terms in articles/blog posts like these.

Here's my attempt at a better (for this use case) definition:

A semantic layer is an interface to data stores that is designed to be queryable in terms relevant and familiar to those with knowledge of the business domain.

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articsputnik7mo ago

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I actually refine and update my definition, that's why it is similar.

> A semantic layer is an interface to data stores that is designed to be queryable in terms relevant and familiar to those with knowledge of the business domain.

Sounds good to me, but I think it's too simplified. A semantic layer, IMO, does more. See Julian Hyde's definition, which is also similar to mine, and more involved as well:

> A semantic layer, also known as a metrics layer, lies between business users and the database, and lets those users compose queries in the concepts that they understand. It also governs access to the data, manages data transformations, and can tune the database by defining materializations.

> Like many new ideas, the semantic layer is a distillation and evolution of many old ideas, such as query languages, multidimensional OLAP, and query federation.

I appreciated your feedback. Will think a little more about it.

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