A member is a named hierarchical element in a database outline. Represent a member using the following rules:
<member> ::=
<member-name-specification>
| <member_value_expression>A member name can be specified in the following ways:
By specifying the actual name or the alias; for example, Cola, Actual, COGS, and [100].
If the member name starts with number or contains spaces, it should be within braces; for example, [100]. Braces are recommended for all member names, for clarity and code readability.
If the member name starts with an ampersand (&) , it should be within quotation marks; for example, ["&xyz"]. This is because the leading ampersand is reserved for substitution variables. You can also specify it as StrToMbr("&100").
For attribute members, the long name (qualified to uniquely identify the member) should be used; for example, [Ounces_12] instead of [12].
By specifying dimension name or any one of the ancestor member names as a prefix to the member name; for example, [Product].[100-10] and [Diet].[100-10] This is a recommended practice for all member names, as it eliminates ambiguity and enables you to refer accurately to shared members.
Note: | Use only one ancestor in the qualification. Essbase returns an error if multiple ancestors are included. For example, [Market].[New York] is a valid name for New York, and so is [East].[New York]. However, [Market].[East].[New York] returns an error. |
By specifying the name of a calculated member defined in the WITH section.
For outlines that have duplicate member names enabled, see also MDX Syntax for Specifying Duplicate Member Names and Aliases.
A member value expression is output from any function that returns a member. As an alternative to referencing the member by name or alias, you can use a function that returns a member in place of <member>. For a list of functions that return a member, see MDX Functions.