Data orientation

[1][2] The choice of data orientation is a trade-off and an architectural decision in databases, query engines, and numerical simulations.

[1] As a result of these tradeoffs, row-oriented formats are more commonly used in Online transaction processing (OLTP) and column-oriented formats are more commonly used in Online analytical processing (OLAP).

However, computer systems represent data in a linear memory model, both in-disk and in-memory.

[7][8][9] Therefore, a table in a linear memory model requires mapping its two-dimensional scheme into a one-dimensional space.

In both cases, this is the result of fewer page or cache misses when accessing the data.

This dimension is an important reason why row-oriented formats are more commonly used in Online transaction processing (OLTP), as it results in faster transactions in comparison to column-oriented.

This is the result of the possibility that this orientation offers to represent certain data types with dedicated encodings.