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The basic approach that we take to dimensional tables does provide us with a clear direction that all dimensional values should be linked to a fact table via a surrogate key. The date dimension is no different. It is a very important dimension and by providing users with a date table, it provides you with significant business benefits in terms of the business specific date analysis that you will be able to perform. As well, certain BI tools will insist on having a separate dimension for dates to supply data to dimensional filters.
Bottom line here is that I would create a surrogate key, but I will also let you in on a trick that we use around date keys. We define the surrogate date key to always be supplied in the numerical format of YYYYDDMM, although a true surrogate key, we can now infer meaning from this key through the use of TO_CHAR or TO_DATE functions.
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