ETL vs ELT

ETL stands for Extract, Transform, Load: pull data from sources, clean and reshape it, then load the finished result into a destination like a database. ELT reorders the last two — load the raw data first, then transform it inside the destination.

The modern shift toward ELT is driven by cheap, powerful data warehouses that can transform huge data in place while keeping the raw copy for later re-processing. The practical takeaway for a beginner: both are just disciplined names for “get data, fix data, store data,” and which order you choose depends on where the heavy computing happens.