Bridge Tables vs Array/Map Columns

Modern warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks) support ARRAY and MAP column types. This creates a real alternative to bridge tables: store the many-to-many relationship as a nested array inside the fact row itself. Interviewers at companies using these platforms will test whether you know when each approach is appropriate. The Two Approaches: Know Both, Choose Contextually The Modern Alternative You Should Mention Your array-column answer: 'On BigQuery, UNNEST flattens the array into rows, producing the same result as joining through a bridge table. The difference is the relationship lives inside the fact row, not in a separate table. I would use arrays for low-cardinality, static relationships. For relationships with changing weights or cross-fact usage, I would extract to a bridge t