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Data Concepts

ETL

Definition updated April 2026

What is ETL?

ETL stands for Extract, Transform, Load - the three-phase process of moving data from source systems into a destination like a data warehouse, database, or analytics platform.

The Extract phase fetches raw data from sources - APIs, databases, or files. The Transform phase cleans, normalizes, and reshapes the data to match the destination schema. The Load phase writes the transformed data to the destination.

For developers working with APIs and datasets, ETL thinking helps structure integration. Calling a property API is the extract; normalizing field names and filtering inactive listings is the transform; inserting records into your database is the load.

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