Oracle9i OLAP Services Developer's Guide to the OLAP DML Release 1 (9.0.1) Part Number A86720-01 |
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Defining Data Objects, 2 of 9
It is important to understand the distinction between an object's definition and its data. An object's definition is its description in the workspace dictionary of the analytic workspace. An object's data is the value or values that are associated with that definition. All objects have definitions. However, not all objects have data.
For example, a SALES variable that is dimensioned by MONTH, PRODUCT, and DISTRICT has a definition for itself as a variable object. The SALES variable is also associated with the definitions for its three dimensions. However, the values of SALES, MONTH, PRODUCT, and DISTRICT are not part of the definitions.
Other objects, such as programs (stored procedures), do not have data.
Once you have created an analytic workspace, you can begin defining OLAP DML objects. To define any OLAP DML object, use the DEFINE command. The simplified syntax for the DEFINE command is shown below.
DEFINE name object-type attributes [DATABASE dbname]
The name argument specifies the name for the new definition.
Important: Because each analytic workspace has its own dictionary of OLAP DML objects, you can define objects with the same name in more than one analytic workspace. However, to prevent unexpected results, you should take care to provide unique names for objects in separate analytic workspaces that will be active at the same time.
The object-type argument specifies the type of OLAP DML object that is being defined. The default is VARIABLE. You can specify any of the valid object types as outlined in "OLAP DML objects you define using the DEFINE command".
The attributes argument specifies the properties of the object. Attributes are different for each type of object. The attributes are listed in the entry for each object type.
The DATABASE dbname phrase specifies the name of an attached analytic workspace in which you want to define the object. If you do not specify an analytic workspace name, then the current analytic workspace is used.
For the complete syntax for the DEFINE command, see the entry for the command in THE OLAP DML Reference.
The OLAP DML data objects types that you define using the DEFINE command are outlined in the following table.
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