Glossary
Component Object Model (COM)
A binary standard that enables objects to interact with other objects, regardless of the programming language that each object was written in.
consumer
A consumer is any application or tool that calls to a data source or the interfaces of provider to access data. See provider
dataset
The dataset represents the multidimensional result set from the execution of a MDX statement.
data source object
Uniquely identifies an instance of an Oracle database, typically set to the net service name, which is the alias in the tnsnames.ora file.
Multidimensional Expressions (MDX)
Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) is a syntax built upon SQL for querying against multidimensional databases. Oracle OLAP Provider for OLE DB accepts MDX statements as the command. MDX statements must be executed to obtain multidimensional data and metadata.
OLAP
Online Analytical Processing. Analytical query that involves inter-row calculations, time series analysis, and access to aggregated historical and current data. This is unlike traditional transactional query (online transactional processing (OLTP)) which involves simple data selection and retrieval.
Oracle Net Services
The Oracle client/server communication software that offers transparent operation to Oracle tools or databases over any type of network protocol and operating system.
provider
A provider is an interface or set of components that provides data to a consumer. As the term is used with Oracle OLAP Provider for OLE DB, a data provider is a set of COM components that transfer data from a data source to consumer, by placing the data in a multidimensional format when called for. See consumer.