OLTP — Online Transaction Processing
Definition: Databases optimized for high-volume, low-latency reads and writes of individual records. OLTP systems (Postgres, MySQL) power the application; OLAP systems power the reporting on top of it.
Example
In engineering planning, you'll often hear something like: "Let's pull the latest OLTP numbers before we make a call" — shorthand for online transaction processing.
When you'll hear it
OLTP shows up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. When someone uses it, they're usually referring to online transaction processing — and they expect the room to already know what that means.
FAQs
What does OLTP stand for?
OLTP stands for Online Transaction Processing.
What does OLTP mean in technology and engineering?
Databases optimized for high-volume, low-latency reads and writes of individual records. OLTP systems (Postgres, MySQL) power the application; OLAP systems power the reporting on top of it.
Where will I hear OLTP used at work?
OLTP comes up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. It's used as shorthand for online transaction processing, so people assume you already know the term.