20 Defining Calculation Order

Essbase calculates the database block by block, in an order determined by the hierarchy defined in the outline.

Understanding the calculation order of Essbase block storage cubes can help you refine your application's calculation process. An Essbase database is calculated at the data block level. The Essbase calculation processor brings one or more blocks into memory, and calculates the required data values within each block. Data blocks are calculated in order, according to their block numbers. The database outline determines the order of blocks. Likewise, within each block, the values are calculated in order according to the hierarchy defined in the database outline.

The information in this chapter applies only to block storage databases and is not relevant to aggregate storage databases.