I'm working in both Dev Studio and App Studio. I'm researching OLAP use and I can't seem to figure out if I can create OLAP-enabled reports in App Studio. I see all sorts of references to Dev Studio, but nothing in App Studio. Does anyone know if this is possible? I just need to know where to focus (no pun intended)
PondogThis message has been edited. Last edited by: <Kathryn Henning>,
WebFOCUS 8.1.05 Windows, All Outputs
September 22, 2015, 08:35 PM
StuBouyer
Pondog,
I assume you want to turn on OLAP in your report and already have your OLAP Dimensions (probably from a Cube). If so you can turn on OLAP via the from the "Autodrill & Analysis" button in the "Naviagation" section of the the "Format Tab". This pops up a box and allows you change the OLAP and Auto Drill Options.
If you need to create your OLAP dimensions then you do that from the Procedure View - right click -> "New..." -> OLAP Dimensions
Hope that helps.
Stu
WebFOCUS 8.2.03 (8.2.06 in testing)
September 23, 2015, 09:26 AM
Pondog
Hey Stu,
Being the FNG and new to WF I'm not sure what you mean when you talk about a Cube. I'm researching OLAP to get a better understanding on how we can use it in our reporting. I've been walking through the OLAP instruction in the WF 8 Tech Library but haven't encountered anything about a Cube, yet.
Initially, I created the OLAP report in Dev Studio and then moved to App Studio. It seems to be a common way of doing things since I'm working in AS 8.0.09. We're hoping to upgrade to 8.1.05 later this week or next. However, I couldn't figure out if/how to start an OLAP report in App Studio. All the documentation I've run across seems to point to Dev Studio.
All this to say, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. This helps a bunch!
Pondog
WebFOCUS 8.1.05 Windows, All Outputs
September 23, 2015, 07:44 PM
StuBouyer
Quick and Dirty intro to OLAP.
(Note I have barely used OLAP cubes in a production sense and most of what follows may well be hear-say or overly simplified)
Usually when SQL databases are relational - there are multiple tables that have relationships to each other. There are many variants in how the tables are designed and relate to each other with the star-schema and 3rd nominal form being favorites. These are stored in databases like MS SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle DB, DB2 etc.
OLAP (online analytical processing) deals with data with multiple dimensions - for example sales by region, by year, by product. To do this data is aggregated at different levels of the dimensions - organised by hierarchies. This gives you the ability to slice, dice, drill up/down and roll up data on the fly. With relational data this can be sometimes slow to calculate so the OLAP cube can be used to do the calculations and store the values at different level of aggregation. MS SSAS and Cognos, Essbase are all examples of OLAP servers that allow you to create and manage cubes.
When you report against cube data sources with WebFOCUS the dimensions and hierarchies are inherited from the cube. WebFOCUS also allows you to do OLAP against non-cube data by setting your dimensions either in the master file or within the FEX itself.
Hope this helps more than it confuses
Stu
WebFOCUS 8.2.03 (8.2.06 in testing)
September 24, 2015, 10:55 AM
Pondog
I'm not aware of us using cubes. I'll have to look into that. All my dimensions have been built within the FEX. Of course, in the learning process all my reports have been very simple, however, I can see how the use of cubes will come in handy. Thanks for the OLAP info.
Tony
quote:
Quick and Dirty intro to OLAP.
(Note I have barely used OLAP cubes in a production sense and most of what follows may well be hear-say or overly simplified)
Usually when SQL databases are relational - there are multiple tables that have relationships to each other. There are many variants in how the tables are designed and relate to each other with the star-schema and 3rd nominal form being favorites. These are stored in databases like MS SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle DB, DB2 etc.
OLAP (online analytical processing) deals with data with multiple dimensions - for example sales by region, by year, by product. To do this data is aggregated at different levels of the dimensions - organised by hierarchies. This gives you the ability to slice, dice, drill up/down and roll up data on the fly. With relational data this can be sometimes slow to calculate so the OLAP cube can be used to do the calculations and store the values at different level of aggregation. MS SSAS and Cognos, Essbase are all examples of OLAP servers that allow you to create and manage cubes.
When you report against cube data sources with WebFOCUS the dimensions and hierarchies are inherited from the cube. WebFOCUS also allows you to do OLAP against non-cube data by setting your dimensions either in the master file or within the FEX itself.