Introduction to the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Data Modeling Guide

This chapter covers the following topics:

Introduction to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher
New Features for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)

Introduction to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

Oracle BI Publisher is an enterprise reporting solution for authoring, managing, and delivering all your highly formatted documents, such as operational reports, electronic funds transfer documents, government PDF forms, shipping labels, checks, sales and marketing letters, and much more.

The Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher describes how report developers use BI Publisher's data model editor to fetch and structure the data for use in the many different types of report layouts that BI Publisher supports. See these other guides for more information about using the product for other business roles:


Role	Sample Tasks	Guide
Administrator	Configuring Security Configuring System Settings Diagnosing and Monitoring System Processes	Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher
Application developer or integrator	Integrating BI Publisher into existing applications using the application programming interfaces	Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher
Report consumer	Viewing reports Scheduling report jobs Managing report jobs	Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher
Report designer	Creating report definitions Designing layouts	Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

New Features for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)

This section describes new features in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1). If you are upgrading from a previous release, read the following for information about new features, tools, and procedures.

This section includes the following topics:

New Features for Oracle BI Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.5)
New Features for Oracle BI Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3)

New Features for Oracle BI Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.5)

New features in Oracle BI Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.5) include:

Support for CLOB as XML

The data engine can now extract well-formed XML data stored in a database column as a character large object (CLOB) data type and maintain its structure. This feature enables you to use XML data generated by a separate process and stored in your database as input to a BI Publisher data model. For more information, see Using Data Stored as a Character Large Object (CLOB) in a Data Model.

Upload Local Microsoft Excel File as Data Source

You can now upload a locally stored Excel file directly to a data model definition. This file can then be refreshed on demand from the data model definition. For more information, see Creating a Data Set Using a Microsoft Excel File.

Use LDAP Attributes as Bind Variables in Data Queries

LDAP attributes defined in the LDAP Security Model definition can be used as bind variables in data queries. For more information, see Creating Bind Variables from LDAP User Attribute Values.

Support for Parameters in Bursting Query

You can now pass the value for an element of your bursting XML using a parameter defined in the data model. For example, if you want to be able to select the template at the time of submission, you can define a parameter in the data model and use the :parameter_name syntax in your query. For more information, see Passing a Parameter to the Bursting Query.

New Features for Oracle BI Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3)

New features in Oracle BI Publisher 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3) include:

Major User Interface Improvements

The user interface has undergone major improvements in several areas, including a new Home page and redesigned editors and panes. These improvements are intended to make working with Oracle BI Publisher easier and more consistent. For information about working in the new interface, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Shared Oracle BI Presentation Catalog

For installations of BI Publisher with the Oracle BI Enterprise Edition, BI Publisher now shares the same catalog with Oracle BI Presentation services. For information about the improved catalog, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Data Model Editor

This release introduces the data model editor to create your report data models. The data model editor enables you to combine data from multiple data sets from different data sources, such as SQL, Excel files, Web services, HTTP feeds, and other applications into a single XML data structure. Data sets can either be unrelated or a relationship can be established between them using a data link. This guide describes in detail how to use the data model editor.

Data Model as a Sharable Object

The data model is saved as a distinct catalog object. This means that a single data model can now be used for multiple reports.

Support for Microsoft Excel File as a Data Source

A Microsoft Excel file can now be used to create a data set in a BI Publisher data model. For more information, see Creating a Data Set Using a Microsoft Excel File.

Support for View Object as a Data Source

BI Publisher enables you to connect to your custom applications built with Oracle Application Development Framework and use view objects in your applications as data sources for reports. For more information, see Creating a Data Set Using a View Object.