Introducing Dimension Status

Definition: Current status list

The current status list of a dimension is an ordered list of currently accessible values for the dimension. Values that are in the current status list of a dimension are said to be "in status."

If you are familiar with relational database terminology, then you can think of the current status list of a dimension as a view of the dimension. Whether or not a dimension value is in status determines your view of the data from all of the objects that are dimensioned by it. In general, when an OLAP DML command is processed, only those values that are in status are accessed.

• For dimensions, only those dimension values that are in the current status list are accessed; and for dimensioned objects, only those values that are indexed by dimension values that are in the current status list are accessed.

• As a loop is performed through dimensioned objects, it uses the order of the dimension values in the current status list to determine the order in which to access the object's values.

Whether or not a dimension value is in status merely restricts your view of the value during a given session; it does not permanently affect the values that are stored in the analytic workspace.

Definition: Default status list

When you first attach an analytic workspace, the current status list of each dimension consists of all of the dimension's values that have read permission, in the order in which the values are stored. This list of values is called the default status list for the dimension.

Changing the default status list

You can change the default status list of a dimension in the following ways:

• You can add, delete, move, merge, and rename values in a dimension by using the MAINTAIN command. For more information on storing and maintaining dimension values, see "Maintaining Dimensions and Composites" and the entry for the MAINTAIN command in OLAP DML Reference.

• You can change the read permission of values that are associated with a dimension by using the PERMIT command or the PERMITRESET command. For more information on using these commands, see "Adding Security to an Analytic Workspace" and the topics for the commands in OLAP DML Reference.

Changing the current status list

You can change the current status list for a dimension by using:

• The LIMIT command to change the values and the order of the values in a dimension's current status list.

• The SORT command to arrange the order of values in a dimension's current status list.

If you are familiar with relational database concepts and terminology, then it may help you to think of using a LIMIT command to "set or change dimension status" or "limit a dimension" in an analytic workspace as similar to using the SQL SELECT statement to "select a view" in a relational database. Changing dimension status merely restricts your view of the data during a given session. No matter how you change the current status list of a dimension, the changes have no permanent effect on your analytic workspace; every dimension retains all of its values.

Identifying and retrieving status lists

You can use the following commands and functions to identify and retrieve the status of dimension values.

Command or function	Description
INSTAT function	Checks whether a dimension value is in the current status list of a dimension.
STATFIRST function	Retrieves the first value in the current status list of a dimension.
STATLAST function	Retrieves the last value in the current status list of a dimension.
STATUS command	Sends to the current outfile the status of one or more values in a dimension, or the status of all dimensions in an analytic workspace.
VALUES function	Retrieves different values depending on the keyword that you specify: If you specify the NOSTATUS keyword, then the function retrieves the default status list of a dimension list. If you specify the STATUS keyword, then the function retrieves the current status list of a dimension. Depending on whether you specify the INTEGER keyword, the function either returns a multiline text value that contains one dimension value per line or returns, as integers, the position numbers of the dimension values.

Saving and restoring dimension status

You can save the current status of a dimension in the following ways.

• If you want to save the current status or value of a dimension for use in any session, then use a named valueset. Use the DEFINE VALUESET command to define the valueset.

• If you want to save the current status or value of a dimension, a valueset, an option, or a single-cell variable for use in the current program, then use the PUSHLEVEL and PUSH commands. You can restore the current status values using the POPLEVEL and POP commands.

• If you want to save, access, or update the current status or value of a dimension, an option, a single-cell variable, a valueset, or a single-cell relation for use in the current session, then use a named context. Use the CONTEXT command to define the context.

Contexts are the most sophisticated way to save object values for use in an analytic workspace. With contexts, you can access and update the saved object values, whereas PUSH and POP simply allow you to save and restore values. Typically, you only used the PUSH and POP commands within a program to make changes that apply only during the program's execution.

Related information

For more information, see the following table.

IF you want documentation about . . .	THEN see . . .
storing and maintaining values in a dimension,	"Maintaining Dimensions and Composites"
the CONTEXT, POP, POPLEVEL, PUSH, and PUSHLEVEL commands,	"Preserving the Session Environment" the entries for the commands in OLAP DML Reference
changing the read permission of dimension values using the PERMIT or PERMITRESET commands,	"Adding Security to an Analytic Workspace" the topics for the commands in OLAP DML Reference
sorting dimension values,	the entry for the SORT command in OLAP DML Reference