1. Scripting Reference for Oracle Essbase
  2. MaxL
  3. How to Read MaxL Railroad Diagrams
  4. Anatomy of MaxL Statements

Anatomy of MaxL Statements

MaxL statements for Essbase are syntactically comprised of keywords and terminals. Understanding how they work together can help you build your MaxL script-writing skills.

  • A keyword, represented in plain, lower-case font, is a unit of MaxL grammar. Keywords must be entered literally and in the correct order in MaxL statements. See the examples of keywords in the following diagram excerpt:


    Within the statement create database DBS-NAME using non_unique_members, the types are as follows. Create and database are keywords. DBS-NAME is a Terminal. Using and non_unique_members are keywords.

  • A terminal, represented in upper-case without brackets, is replaced by values in the appropriate format as defined in the Terminals table. In the above diagram, DBS-NAME is a terminal. Terminals need to be replaced with a valid name; for example, sample.basic.

    Keywords cannot be used as terminals, unless enclosed in single quotation marks. For example, to create a database named database, the statement create database database; would return an error, but create database "database"; would work.

  • The semicolon indicates the end of a statement. Omitting a semicolon, or placing one before the expected end of a statement, results in a syntax error.

  • A non-terminal, represented in upper-case with angle brackets <>, is defined in an additional diagram, usually below the main diagram. No non-terminal is shown here.