Xi3 Universe Builder Guide en

BusinessObjects Universe Builder
Guide
BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

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Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 5
Overview of creating universes from metadata sources..............................6
What is Universe Builder?...........................................................................6
Universe Builder and Designer....................................................................6
When do you use Universe Builder instead of Designer?...........................7
Chapter 2 Universe Builder basics 9

Starting Universe Builder...........................................................................10
Chapter 3 Building universes from XML metadata sources 11

Overview of how you create a universe from XML metadata....................12
XML metadata to universe component mapping.......................................13
Selecting a XML data source.....................................................................13
Creating a universe from a XML data source............................................14
Universe and connection options for a universe built from a XML
source...................................................................................................15
Viewing the trace log.................................................................................17
Setting trace log options............................................................................17
Chapter 4 Updating XML metadata source universes 19

Updating a universe from a XML metadata source...................................20
Chapter 5 Exporting a universe to a XML file format 23

Overview of exporting universes to XML file formats................................24
Universe pre-requirements for export to DB2 Cube Views........................24
BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide 3

Contents
Exporting a universe to DB2 Cube Views formats.....................................25

How to identify non-matching universe metadata......................................26
Mapping specific SQL expressions...........................................................28
How universe structures are mapped to DB2 Cube Views metadata........30
Universe to cube model........................................................................30
Class to dimension...............................................................................31
Fact table to Fact..................................................................................31
Measure to measure............................................................................32
Dimension and detail object to attribute...............................................33
Dimension and detail relationship to attribute relationship...................33
Default hierarchy to hierarchy..............................................................34
Custom hierarchy to hierarchy.............................................................34
Join to join............................................................................................34
Chapter 6 Building universes from Oracle Analytic Services 37

Overview of how you create a universe from Oracle Analytic Services.....38
How is a universe generated from a OLAP cube?....................................38
Analyzing the relational view.....................................................................39
What are the shortcut joins in the universe used for?...............................40
How are Oracle OLAP structures mapped to universe components?.......42
How to create a Oracle OLAP universe.....................................................48
Creating a view and generating a universe..........................................49
Create a view only................................................................................51
Creating Oracle OLAP universe from an existing view........................52
Appendix A Get More Help 53
Index 57
4 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

Introduction
1
1 Introduction
Overview of creating universes from metadata sources
Overview of creating universes from

metadata sources
BusinessObjects XI Release 3 is installed with two products that you can
use to create universes from metadata sources and Oracle Analytic Services:
Product Description
From Designer, you can create universes automatically from

metadata sources by selecting File > Metadata Exchange.
A universe creation wizard allows you to connect to a
Designer
metadata source, then generate a universe. This process is
described in the Designer Online Help and in the Designer’s
Guide.
Stand alone product installed with BusinessObjects XI Re-

lease 3 that allows you to connect to a metadata source,
Universe Builder select objects to include in a universe, and then generate
the universe in Designer. This product is described in this
guide.
What is Universe Builder?

Universe Builder is Business Objects software that allows you to create
universes from XML metadata sources and Oracle Analytic Services.
Once you start Universe Builder, you connect to a metadata source, then
using a universe creation wizard, you map metadata structures to equivalent
classes, objects, dimensions, and details used in a standard BusinessObjects
universe. You then generate the universe.
Universe Builder and Designer

You can create universes from metadata sources with both Universe Builder
and Designer.

Introduction
When do you use Universe Builder instead of Designer? 1
Universe Builder is a stand alone product that provides an independent user
interface for universe creation from metadata sources.
Designer is used for the universe generation at the end of the creation
process.
The universe creation mechanism for each supported metadata source is a

software plugin to Designer. There is a metadata source plugin for each
supported metadata source.
The metadata plugins can be updated by Business Objects. If the plugin for
a metadata source is updated, then you can install the updated plugin and
use the new capabilities from Universe Builder, but the updated plugin is not
available from Designer.
When do you use Universe Builder

instead of Designer?
Given that you can use either Designer or Universe Builder to create a
universe from metadata source, why use Universe Builder and when do you
use it?
Universe Builder is an independent product. You can update the metadata

plugins used to generate universes when newer versions are available from
Business Objects.
Designer can not be updated with new or updated metadata exchange

plugins. The metadata source support is fixed at the level of the installed
version.
You use either Designer or Universe Builder based on the following:

• You use Designer to create a universe from a metadata source supported
at the time of this release.
• You use Universe Builder to create a universe from a metadata source
plugin that has been updated, or to use a plugin for a newly supported
metadata source.

1 Introduction
When do you use Universe Builder instead of Designer?

Universe Builder basics
2
2 Universe Builder basics
Starting Universe Builder
Starting Universe Builder

You start Universe Builder from the task bar by clicking the Universe Builder
icon in the group of installed Business Objects products for this release. You
are prompted to log into the CMS before Designer starts.
Once you start Universe Builder, the Universe Builder pane appears. All the
metadata sources supported in this BusinessObjects release are listed as
icons in the Bridges column to the left of the Universe Builder pane.
Each metadata source also appears as a tab in the central part of the pane.
You can activate a metadata source by clicking either its icon to the left, or
clicking its tab.
1. Select Universe Builder from the BusinessObjects group of products in
the Start menu.
The login box for the CMS appears.
2. Type the following information. This information is normally provided for
you by the BusinessObjects administrator.
Login information Description
System Name of the CMS server.
User Name Your repository user name.
Password Your repository password.
Authentication Your security level
3. Click the OK button.

The Universe Builder pane appears.

Building universes from
XML metadata sources
3
3 Building universes from XML metadata sources
Overview of how you create a universe from XML metadata
Overview of how you create a universe

from XML metadata
You can create or update a universe from XML files conforming to the
following data source standards:
• Common Warehouse Model (CWM Relational 1.0
• Common Warehouse Model OLAP (CWM OLAP)
• Oracle Warehouse Builder (Oracle WB)
• Data Integrator
• IBM DB2 Data Warehouse Center (IBM DB2 DWC)
• IBM DB2 Cube Views
You can also export a universe to a IBM DB2 Cube View XML format file.
You create a universe by following a metadata source wizard, that allows

you to connect to a target XML file. You can then select the cube associated
with the XML metadata source. You then start a creation wizard that allows
you to select cube tables to include in the universe. You select a connection,
set creation options and generate the universe.
The universe creation process is the same for all XML metadata sources.
The universe creation process for a Oracle Analytical Workspaces datasource

is different. Once you have selected your connection, a universe creation
panel specific to Oracle Analytic Workspaces appears. You create a view
on the database, then create a universe from the view. This is described in
the chapter Building universes from Oracle Analytic Services.
Once you have created the universe from a metadata source, you can modify
any of the universe components as for any other universe.
You save and export the universe to the Central Management System (CMS).
Once exported to the CMS, the universe is then available to Web Intelligence
users to create queries and reports.

Building universes from XML metadata sources
XML metadata to universe component mapping 3
XML metadata to universe component
mapping
The following table shows the BusinessObjects structures that are mapped
from information in the XML file:
XML information Universe structure
Database Universe
Table or view Class, table
Table business name Class name
Column Object, column
Column business name Object name
Column SQL data type Object type
Table/column description Class/object description
Foreign key-Primary key relation-

ship (PKTable.PKColmn=FK- Join expression
Table.FKColumn)
Selecting a XML data source

You select a metadata source (an XML file) to create or update a universe
from the Universe Builder panel.
1. Start Universe Builder.
The Universe Builder panel appears.
2. Click the icon or tab for your metadata source.
For example to create a universe from a CWM relational 1.0 metadata
source, you can click either the icon to the left of the Universe Builder
panel or the tab at the top of the Universe Builder panel.

Creating a universe from a XML data source
3. Do one of the following:

• Select File > Metadata Sources
• Click the Metadata Sources button.
The connection wizard starts.
4. Click Next.
The XML file selection page appears.
• Type a file path.
• Click the Browse button and select a XML source file. This is the file
that you want to use to generate the universe.
6. Click Finish.
The XML file and associated database name appear in the Universe
Builder pane.
Example:
Creating a universe from a XML data

source
Once you have selected a metadata source, you use a universe creation
wizard to take you through the steps to select the metadata elements that
you want to be mapped to the universe, and finally the generation of the
universe.
1. Start Universe Builder and select a metadata source.
2. Click the source database icon under the XML metadata source name in
the Universe Builder panel.
• Select File > Create Universe
• Click the Create Universe button.
The Universe Builder wizard starts.
4. Click Next.
The universe elements page appears. The available database tables and
columns are listed in the left pane.

Creating a universe from a XML data source 3
5. Select one or more tables and columns and click the right arrow to
populate the right pane. The tables and columns in the right pane are
those that appear in the generated universe. You can use the arrow
buttons to add and remove tables from the universe pane as necessary
6. Click Next.
A connection and universe properties page appears. It lists the
connections available to Designer.
7. Click a connection in the connections list. This is the connection to the
data source that the universe uses to retrieve data. Do the following on
the connection and universe properties page:
• Type a universe name.
• Select or clear options check boxes.
• Click the Advanced button to set trace log file and XML source file
options.
• Click Next.
The universe generation summary page appears. It lists a summary of
the options that you have selected during the wizard.
8. Click Finish.
The generated universe appears in the universe and structure panes of
Designer.
Related Topics
• Selecting a XML data source on page 13
• Universe and connection options for a universe built from a XML source
on page 15
Universe and connection options for a universe built

from a XML source
You have the following options on the connection and universe build page
of the metadata universe builder wizard:

Creating a universe from a XML data source
Wizard
Universe options Description
page
Listed connections are connections available

Select a connec-
to Designer. This is the connection to the tar-
tion
get RDBMS.
The name of the universe that will be generat-

Universe name
ed.
Build uni-
verse set-
Save universe au- When selected, the universe is saved on cre-
tings
tomatically ation.
When selected, if a universe with the same

Replace existing name exists, and Save universe automatically
universe is selected, the new universe replaces the
existing universe.
Path to the trace folder. This is the folder that

General tab:
holds the log files when universes are gener-
Traces
ated. You can browse to and select a folder.
File locations tab: Path to the default folder that stores the XML
Default XML files used to create universes. You can
Source File Folder browse to and select a folder.
Advanced Path to the default folder that stores the pa-

settings rameter files. These are files created when a
universe is created. These files store and ref-
erence the selected metadata so that it can
File locations tab: be reused for creating or updating other uni-
Parameter File verses. The parameter file does not store the
selected metadata. it is a filter that directs the
bridge to the selected metadata through the
original XML file. You can browse to and se-
lect a folder

Viewing the trace log 3
Viewing the trace log
Example:
Setting trace log options

The Universe Builder creates a log file that contains trace information for
view and universe creation. The log file is generated in the default folder
<INSTALL DIR>\Log Files. You can change the default target folder. You
can set the following trace options:
Tab Option Description
Path to the trace folder. This is the

folder that holds the log files when
General Traces
universes are generated. You can
browse to and select a folder.
Path to the default folder that stores

Default XML Source the XML files used to create univers-
File locations
File Folder es. You can browse to and select a
folder.

Setting trace log options
Tab Option Description
Path to the default folder that stores

the parameter files. These are files
created when a universe is created.
These files store and reference the
selected metadata so that it can be
Parameter File reused for creating or updating other
universes. The parameter file does
not store the selected metadata. it is
a filter that directs the bridge to the
selected metadata through the origi-
nal XML file.
1. Select View > Options or click the Options button.

The Options page appears.
2. Set options as required.
3. Click OK.

Updating XML metadata
source universes
4
4 Updating XML metadata source universes
Updating a universe from a XML metadata source
Updating a universe from a XML

metadata source
You select a metadata source that has been updated. This is the metadata
source that has been used to create a universe. The source has been
updated, and now you want to update the universe with the same
modification. A universe update wizard takes you through the steps needed
to update the universe.
1. Start Universe Builder and select a metadata source. See the section
Selecting a XML metadata source for information on doing this.
2. Click the source database icon under the XML metadata source name in
the Universe Builder panel
• Select File > Update Universe.
• Click the Update Universe button.
The Universe update wizard starts.
4. Click Next.
The universe file page appears.
5. Click the Browse button and select a universe. This is the universe that
you want to update from the selected XML metadata source. Click Next.
The universe elements page appears. The available database tables and
columns are listed in the left pane. Tables that have been added or
modified are indicated with a red check mark
6. Select one or more tables and columns and click the right arrow to
populate the right pane with the tables that have been modified. The
tables and columns in the right pane are those that appear in the
generated universe. You can use the arrow buttons to add and remove
tables from the universe pane as necessary.
7. Click Next.
The elements to update page appears.
8. Click the Advanced button.
The Options box appears.
9. Click the Properties tab and select radio buttons to keep or replace
Business Name, Mapping Expression, Object Type, and Lineage
properties.

Updating XML metadata source universes
Updating a universe from a XML metadata source 4
10. Click the Description tab and select radio buttons to keep, concatenate,
or replace Business and Technical descriptions.
11. Click the File Location and General tabs to change parameter file paths,
then click Next.
The universe generation summary page appears. It lists a summary of
the options that you have selected during the wizard.
12. Click Finish.
The updated universe appears in the universe and structure panes of
Designer.

4 Updating XML metadata source universes
Updating a universe from a XML metadata source

Exporting a universe to a
XML file format
5
5 Exporting a universe to a XML file format
Overview of exporting universes to XML file formats
Overview of exporting universes to XML

file formats
You can export a universe to IBM DB2 cube View XML format file.
The universe definition is exported to a XML file that complies with IBM DB2
Cube Views XML format. This file can then be loaded in IBM DB2 Cube
Views using the API or OLAP Center tool. IBM DB2 Cube Views reads the
metadata from the XML file, and recommends the appropriate Automatic
Summary Table (AST) for future query optimization.
Universe pre-requirements for export to

DB2 Cube Views
The following list describes the universe pre-requisites necessary for a
successful universe export to the XML file:
Universe ele-
Restrictions
ment affected
• Each universe is exported to a Cube Model.

• A universe must match a single snowflake schema with
a single fact table.
Universe level re- • The universe must contain at least one measure.
strictions • Links between universes are not supported.
• Contexts are not taken into account, and not exported.
• Custom hierarchies: the levels of a custom hierarchy
must be grouped in the same class.

Exporting a universe to a XML file format
Exporting a universe to DB2 Cube Views formats 5
Universe ele-
Restrictions
ment affected
• @Select function is the only supported @function. All

other @functions are not mapped in the export.
• Conditions in the Where field of an object definition are
not exported. Note: Conditions are not supported in DB2
Cube Views objects, as they are not used for optimiza-
tion.
Classes and ob- • Multi-parameter aggregation functions are not exported.
jects • Each class must contain objects that are built on the
same dimension tables.
• All the objects (attributes in IBMDB2CV) that are refer-
enced by the same dimension in IBMDB2CV, must be
grouped in the same class in the universe. Any other
measure in other classes are automatically added to the
Fact object in IBMDB2CV.
If the left or right column of a join does not match an object

in the universe, then an attribute for this column is automat-
Joins
ically created and added to the dimension (or fact) that
contains the column table.
Exporting a universe to DB2 Cube Views

formats
You export a BusinessObjects universe to a IBM DB2 Cube Views XML file
as follows:
1. Start Universe Builder and click the IBMDB2CubeViews icon or tab.
• Select File > Export Universe.
• Click The Export Universe button.
The export wizard starts.
3. Click Next.
A universe source file page appears.
4. Browse to and select a universe file, then click Next.

How to identify non-matching universe metadata
An OLAP information page appears.

5. Do the following:
• Enter a name for the fact table, or you can accept the fact table name
by default.
• Enter a name for the schema.
• Click Next.
The metadata is loaded. A page appears showing the structures that will
be exported.
6. Click Next.
7. Type a name for the XML file and click Next.
A summary page appears.
8. Verify that the export information is correct, then click Finish.
The XML file is created in the universes folder of your user profile, for
example, C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application
Data\Business Objects\Business Objects <version>\Universes.
How to identify non-matching universe

metadata
This section describes how objects in a universe that do not have a
multi-dimensional match in IBM DB2 Cube Views are identified and processed
during the export of a universe definition to an XML file.
A universe is based on relational metadata that does not have

multi-dimensional design constraints. All the objects in a universe do not
necessarily match equivalent IBM DB2 Cube Views objects, and do not
respect IBM DB2 Cube Views multi-dimensional rules.
To correctly match relational structures, Universe Builder must run certain

automatic detection processes to identify and define the required and
appropriate metadata for IBM DB2 Cube Views. The affected
multi-dimensional objects are described below.

How to identify non-matching universe metadata 5
Non-matching
universe metada- Description
ta
The IBM DB2 Cube Views Fact object is automatically built

Fact
from the set of measures found in the universe.
Tables that are not identified as Facts are assumed to be

dimension tables. A IBM DB2 Cube Views dimension
object is deduced directly from a BusinessObjects class.
Dimensions All the objects within a class determine the attributes of
the IBM DB2 Cube Views dimension. The tables inferred
by BusinessObjects objects within the class, are detected
by parsing the object’s Select field.
Attributes are not directly deduced from the columns of tables

in the universe. Candidate attributes are detected and iden-
tified from the following information:
Attributes • BusinessObjects objects within a class.
• BusinessObjects objects referenced in Select field of
other BusinessObjects objects by the @Select statement.
• Columns involved in a join.
The detail-dimension relationship in a universe is translated

Attribute relation-
to an attribute relationship of type Functional Dependency
ships
in IBM DB2 Cube Views.
Joins and their properties are directly read from universe

Joins
structure.
All classes are searched for measure objects. If a measure

Measures
is not built on the same fact table, then it is ignored.

Mapping specific SQL expressions
Non-matching
universe metada- Description
ta
A hierarchy in DB2 Cube Views is linked to a dimension

object and all its levels are members of this same dimension.
This is not the case in a universe, where a custom hierarchy
can contain levels coming from different Business Objects
classes. Hierarchies are treated as follows:
Hierarchies • If a universe uses only default hierarchies, then the hier-
archies for export to IBM DB2 Cube Views are deduced
from the objects, using the object order within each class.
• If the universe has custom hierarchies, then they are
exported without any modification.
Mapping specific SQL expressions

Certain SQL expressions are mapped in particular ways by the export
process. The following cases of SQL expressions are described in detail:
• SELECT expression for a measure on page 28
• @AggregateAware function on page 29
• Complex join expressions on page 29
• Theta joins on page 29
• Shortcut joins on page 29
SELECT expression for a measure

The BusinessObjects UMB gets the following information from the SELECT
of a measure:
• Detect tables and columns involved in a measure and map them to
sqlExpression:column
• Identify the aggregation function
• Determine the formula expression and map it to sqlExpression:template.

Mapping specific SQL expressions 5
@AggregateAware function
When an object contains the @AggregateAware function, only the last
parameter of the @AggregateAware function is taken into account. This is
the expression that contains the lowest level of aggregation used by the
function. For example:
A @AggregateAware expression for a measure expression in the universe

is as follows:
@Aggregate_Aware(
sum(AggregatedTable1.Sales_revenue),
sum(AggregatedTable2.Sales_revenue),
sum(Fact_Table.Amount_sold))
The expression that is mapped to IBM DB2 Cube Views is:
sum(Fact_Table.Amount_sold))
Complex join expressions

The expression of a complex join in a universe can consist of expressions
of type:
LeftTable.Column=RightTable.Column
In a complex join, these type of expressions can be linked together with the
AND operator. The BusinessObjects UMB maps each expression in the
complex join to an attribute pair of IBM DB2 Cube Views within the same
join.
Theta joins
A theta join is split into two IBM DB2 Cube Views joins, where the operator
BETWEEN is replaced by operators <= and >=. For example:
A join in a universe has this expression:

Customer.age between Age_group.age_min and Age_group.age_max
This join will be split into two joins with the following expressions:
Join1: Customer.age >= Age_group.age_min
Join2: Customer.age <= Age_group.age_max
Shortcut joins
Not exported to IBM DB2 Cube Views. Shortcut joins in a universe represent
an alternate path to improve performance of queries by not taking into account

How universe structures are mapped to DB2 Cube Views metadata
intermediate tables. As shortcut joins create loops within a cube model, they
are not exported.
How universe structures are mapped to

DB2 Cube Views metadata
The following universe structures are mapped to corresponding IBM DB2
Cube Views structures. Each section provides detailed descriptions for
structures that are mapped from a universe to IBM DB2 Cube Views when
a universe is exported to a XML file.
• Universe to cube model on page 30
• Class to dimension on page 31
• Fact table to Fact on page 31
• Measure to measure on page 32
• Dimension and detail object to attribute on page 33
• Dimension and detail relationship to attribute relationship on page 33
• Default hierarchy to hierarchy on page 34
• Custom hierarchy to hierarchy on page 34
• Join to join on page 34
Universe to cube model
The following describes mapping for a universe to cube model:
Universe property Cube property
Short name (file name) Cube file name
Business name. By default the name is the uni-

Universe name (long name)
verse short name (<universe short name>)
Description Comments
Fact table name factsRef
List of classes dimensionRef

How universe structures are mapped to DB2 Cube Views metadata 5
Universe property Cube property
List of joins involving the

joinRef
fact table.
Class to dimension
The following table describes the mapping for a class to a dimension:
Class property Dimension property
Name Name and Business name
List of dimension and detail objects. attributeRef
Joins between dimension tables in-

joinRef
ferred by the class.
If hierarchy is a custom hierarchy, then

the dimension is modified to get all hi-
erarchy levels in the same dimension
Hierarchy
as required by IBM DB2 Cube Views.
The hierarchies are put in the herar-
chyRef property.
Related Topics
• Measure to measure on page 32
Fact table to Fact
The following table describes the mapping for a fact table to a Fact.

Fact table property Fact property
Fact table name
You enter this name manually in the

Facts box in the Export universe Name and Business name
panel. You can also accept the de-
fault name Facts_<universe name>.
Table description Comments
List of all measures in the universe measureRef
List of columns and objects referenced

attributeRef
in measures
Measure to measure
The following table describes the mapping of measure to a measure:
Measure properties Measure properties
Columns and objects inferred by Select

sqlExpression column
statements.
Select statement formula sqlExpression template
Aggregation function aggregation function

Dimension and detail object to attribute
The following table describes the mapping of dimension and details to

attributes:
Dimension and detail objects Attributes
Columns and objects referenced in

sqlExpression column
Select statements
Select statement formula sqlExpression template
Dimension and detail relationship to attribute

relationship
The following table describes the mapping of Dimension/detail relationships

to attribute relationships:
Dimension/detail relationship Attribute relationship
Dimension name + detail name. Concat

Name and Business name
character is “_”
Dimension Left attribute
Detail Right attribute

Default hierarchy to hierarchy
The following table describes the mapping of default hierarchies to

hierarchies:
Default hierarchy Hierarchy
Name Names and Business name
List of objects. Detail objects must not

AttributeRef
be part of the hierarchy.
Custom hierarchy to hierarchy
The following table describes the mapping of a custom hierarchy to hierarchy:
Custom hierarchy Hierarchy
List of objects attributeRef
Join to join
The following table describes the mapping of joins to joins:

Join Join
Left table name + right table name.

Name and Business name
Concat character is "_"
Left column Left attribute
Right column Right attribute
Complex expression:
Each simple expression maps to an
For each simple expression the left attribute pair.
and right columns are identified.


Building universes from
Oracle Analytic Services
6
6 Building universes from Oracle Analytic Services
Overview of how you create a universe from Oracle Analytic Services
Overview of how you create a universe

from Oracle Analytic Services
You create a Oracle OLAP universe by clicking the Oracle OLAP icon or tab
and selecting File > Metadata sources. The Oracle OLAP Universe Builder
wizard starts. You select a connection. The cubes available to the connection
appear. You select a cube, and set view and universe creation options.
Related Topics
• How is a universe generated from a OLAP cube? on page 38
• How to create a Oracle OLAP universe on page 48
How is a universe generated from a OLAP

cube?
When you create a universe with the Oracle OLAP Universe Builder, it is
automatically set up for SQL access to Oracle Analytic Workspaces.
BusinessObjects Oracle OLAP Universe Builder performs the following main
tasks:
• Inserts the relational fact view in the universe as a real view or as Derived
Table.
• Add aliases to represent the dimension levels and hierarchies
• Joins the relational view to the dimension tables with regular joins and
shortcut joins. The expressions of the joins are specific to this solution.
• Creates a class of objects for each Cube dimension and an object for
each level of the dimension.
• Creates a subclass for each hierarchy if a dimension has more than one
hierarchy. Multi-hierarchy dimensions are supported in the view definition
and in the universe.
• Define aggregate navigation to resolve object incompatibility that results
from the multi-hierarchy dimensions.
• Defines object expressions using the AggregateAware function to handle
the Aggregation Navigation

Building universes from Oracle Analytic Services
Analyzing the relational view 6
• Transforms objects that map real dimension members (Identifiers) to
Details of objects that represent the member descriptions.
• Creates measure objects
Analyzing the relational view

BusinessObjects Oracle OLAP Universe Builder generates views that call
the OLAP_TABLE function to map the view columns to the hierarchies of
the dimensions and measures of the Cube. The generated script has the
following form:
CREATE VIEW BOBJ_FK_UNITS_CUBE_VIEW AS SELECT * FROM TA
BLE(OLAP_TABLE('GLOBAL_AW2.TEST DURATION session','','','&LIM
IT_MAP'
LIMIT_MAP is a variable that stores the text of the limit_map parameter of
OLAP_TABLE. This text is generated by Oracle OLAP Universe Builder.
Here is an example of limit_map parameter:
DIMENSION GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME WITH
HIERARCHY GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME_PARENTREL (FK_TIME_HIERLIST
\''CALENDAR\'')
LEVELREL FK_TIME_YEAR,FK_TIME_QUARTER,FK_TIME_MONTH
FROM GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME_FAMILYREL USING GLOB
AL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME_LEVELLIST
LEVELREL FK_TIME_YEAR_DESC,FK_TIME_QUARTER_DE
SC,FK_TIME_MONTH_DESC
FROM GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME_FAMILYREL USING GLOB
AL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME_LEVELLIST
LABEL GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME_LONG_DESCRIPTION
ATTRIBUTE FK_TIME_LEVEL FROM GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_TIME_LEVELREL
DIMENSION GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER WITH
HIERARCHY GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_PARENTREL (FK_CUSTOMER_HI
ERLIST \''MARKET_SEGMENT\'')
INHIERARCHY GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_INHIER
LEVELREL null,null,null,FK_CUSTOMER_TOTAL_MARKET,FK_CUS
TOMER_MARKET_SEGMENT,
FK_CUSTOMER_ACCOUNT,FK_CUSTOMER_SHIP_TO
FROM GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_FAMILYREL USING GLOB
AL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_LEVELLIST
LEVELREL null,null,null,FK_CUSTOMER_TOTAL_MARKET_DESC,FK_CUS
TOMER_MARKET_SEGMENT_D01,
FK_CUSTOMER_ACCOUNT_DESC,FK_CUSTOMER_SHIP_TO_DESC
LABEL GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_LONG_DESCRIPTION
HIERARCHY GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_PARENTREL (FK_CUSTOMER_HI
ERLIST \''SHIPMENTS\'')
INHIERARCHY GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_INHIER

What are the shortcut joins in the universe used for?
LEVELREL null,null,null,FK_CUSTOMER_ALL_CUSTOMERS,
FK_CUSTOMER_REGION,FK_CUSTOMER_WAREHOUSE,null
LEVELREL null,null,null,FK_CUSTOMER_ALL_CUSTOMERS_DESC,
FK_CUSTOMER_REGION_DESC,FK_CUSTOMER_WAREHOUSE_DESC,null
LABEL GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUSTOMER_LONG_DESCRIPTION
ATTRIBUTE FK_CUSTOMER_LEVEL FROM GLOBAL_AW2.TEST!FK_CUS
TOMER_LEVELREL
MEASURE FK_UNITS_CUBE_UNITS AS NUMBER FROM GLOB
AL_AW2.TEST!FK_UNITS_CUBE_UNITS
ROW2CELL OLAP_CALC
What are the shortcut joins in the

universe used for?
Shortcut joins ensure that BusinessObjects generates SQL for each object
combination rather than for each object.
BusinessObjects uses shortcut joins when it can omit tables from a query
and take a 'shortcut' between two tables that are not directly linked in a
hierarchy. For example, based on the following schema:

What are the shortcut joins in the universe used for? 6
if a shortcut join is defined between the QUARTER and OLAPCUBE tables,
BusinessObjects does not need to join through the MONTH table to retrieve
revenue by quarter.
Each table in the time hierarchy (except the lowest-level table) must be joined
to OLAPCUBE.time_level by a shortcut join, as shown below:
The join expression must include the expression that will restrict the rows
returned from OLAPCUBE; in the case of QUARTER, this is
OLAPCUBE.time_level = 'QTR'. To ensure that Designer allows the join, the
expression must also reference the MONTH table, which should appear
inside comments (because it plays no part in the actual join expression that
you are interested in generating). The full join expression is therefore:
/* QUARTER.DUMMY */ OLAPCUBE.time_level = 'QTR'
The full list of shortcut join expressions for the example time hierarchy is as
follows:
Joined tables Expression
/* MONTH.DUMMY */
MONTH, OLAPCUBE
OLAPCUBE.time_level = 'MONTH'

How are Oracle OLAP structures mapped to universe components?
Joined tables Expression
/* QUARTER.DUMMY */
QUARTER, OLAPCUBE
OLAPCUBE.time_level = 'QTR'
/* YEAR.DUMMY */
YEAR, OLAPCUBE
OLAPCUBE.time_level = 'YEAR'
/* TIME_ALL.DUMMY */
TIME_ALL, OLAPCUBE
OLAPCUBE.time_level = 'ALL'
How are Oracle OLAP structures mapped

to universe components?
To obtain and set up the expected universe, the Oracle OLAP Universe
Builder adds and configures universe objects as follows:
View
Oracle OLAP Universe Builder inserts the relational view as a table in the
universe as well as the oracle table sys.dual. If you choose to use a derived
table, a derived table is inserted with the definition of the view (select part
with OLAP_TABLE function).
Hierarchy tables
For each hierarchy that is represented in the relational view, an alias of
sys.dual is created for each level of the hierarchy. The name of the alias is
the level name. For example: if we have a dimension TIME with 4 levels
(ALL, YEAR, MONTH, QUARTER) then create 4 aliases ALL, YEAR, MONTH,
QUARTER.

How are Oracle OLAP structures mapped to universe components? 6
Multi-hierarchy tables
Note: Multi-Hierarchy is a special case. See the section Multi-Hierarchy
special case: (Multi-Hierarchy dimensions support) on page 46 for more
information.
If a dimension has more than one hierarchy, then a different set of tables is
created for each hierarchy even if some hierarchies share a same level. This
means that for shared levels, as many aliases are created as hierarchies.
The naming of such aliases is a concatenation of the level name and the
hierarchy name. For example:
Dimension time has two hierarchies: H1 (All_Time, Year, Month) and H2

(All_Time, Quarter, Month)
All_Time and Month are shared by both hierarchies so we'll have two aliases
for All_Time: All_Time _H1 and All_Time_H2
And two aliases for Month: Month _H1 and Month _H2
Dimension joins
• Each table representing a level is joined to its direct lower level in the
same hierarchy. The join expression is:
/* Alias1.DUMMY=Alias2.DUMMY */ 1=1

where Alias1 represents a level and Alias2 represents its direct upper
level in the hierarchy. Example:
/* Quarter.DUMMY=Year.DUMMY */ 1=1
• Each table is joined to the view using a shortcut join type except for the
lowest level where the join is regular. The join expression defines a value
to filter the rows returned from the view and is of the type:
/* Alias.DUMMY */
VIEW.levelColumn = 'level_value'
Where Alias is the alias name, levelColumn is the column representing

the level within the view and level_value is the value of that column that
matches the level name.
Examples: MYVIEW is the view that represents the OLAP cube, the column
that contains the levels is time_level, the level values are: ALL, YEAR, QTR,
MONTH
Joined tables expression

MONTH, MYVIEW /* MONTH.DUMMY */ MYVIEW.time_level = 'MONTH'
QUARTER, MYVIEW /* QUARTER.DUMMY */ MYVIEW.time_level = 'QTR'
YEAR, MYVIEW /* YEAR.DUMMY */ MYVIEW.time_level = 'YEAR'

TIME_ALL, MYVIEW /* TIME_ALL.DUMMY */ MYVIEW.time_level =
'ALL'
Classes and Objects

The Bridge must create a class for each OLAP dimension and an object for
each level. Class and object properties are mapped as follows:
Mapped from OLAP

Universe item Property
item...
Class
See also Multi-Hierarchy

special case: (Multi-Hier- Name Dimension name
archy dimensions sup-
port) on page 46 below.

Mapped from OLAP
item...
Objects Levels and attributes.
Current level name

Dimension Name identified by the field
name in the view.
View field, for example

Select
MYVIEW.YEAR.
Additional tables to en-

sure the use of appropri-
ate joins:
• Table of current view
Tables
• View
• Highest level table
for all dimensions
Dimension object creat-

ed from the Description
Parent dimension field that is related to the
ID field. For example, ID
Detail (optional) Note: All other proper- field is YEAR, Descrip-
ties are the same as for tion field it YEAR_DE-
dimension above. SC. The object YEAR is
a detail of object
YEAR_DESC.
Measure Name Measure name in cube.

Mapped from OLAP

item...
View field, for example

Select (no drill through)
MYVIEW.SALES
Additional tables to en-

sure the use of appropri-
ate joins:
Tables • View
• Highest level table
for all dimensions
Aggregation function None.
Multi-Hierarchy special case: (Multi-Hierarchy dimensions support)

To support Multi-hierarchy dimensions of an Analytical Warehouse, the
following actions are carried out in the universe:
• A set of tables is created for each hierarchy as described in the section
Multi-hierarchy tables on page 43.
• A class is created for the dimension and a subclass for each hierarchy.
The naming of subclasses is a concatenation of the dimension name and
the hierarchy name.
• For each object corresponding to a level within a hierarchy, the aggregate
function is added to the Select expression. It references as comments,
all the high level aliases, except the aliases of the current hierarchy. For
example:

• Aggregate Navigation is set to make the objects of a subclass (Hierarchy)

incompatible with the tables corresponding to another hierarchy. This
prevents the end user from using in a report objects representing levels
that belong to different hierarchies.
For example, the table Year_H1 (from Hierarchy H1) is incompatible with
objects from H2 hierarchy:
And the table Year_H2 (from Hierarchy H2) is incompatible with objects from
H1 hierarchy:

How to create a Oracle OLAP universe

You can create universes and views as using the following creation methods:
Universe creation option Description
You create a view, and then select

Creating a view and generating a
which structures are mapped to cre-
universe on page 49
ate the universe.
You can create a view and save the

view if you do not want to create a
Create a view only on page 51 universe. The view is available in a
view list and can be used to create a
universe at any time.
You select an existing view, and

Creating Oracle OLAP universe from
generate a universe directly from this
an existing view on page 52
view.

How to create a Oracle OLAP universe 6
Creating a view and generating a universe
You generate an Oracle OLAP universe by first defining a view using Analytic
Workspace Cube metadata, then you set universe creation options, and
generate a new universe.
1. Click the Oracle OLAP icon or tab.
2. Select File > Metadata Sources.
The Oracle OLAP Connection Wizard Welcome page appears.
3. Click Next.
The wizard login page appears.
4. Select a connection, enter user name and password, and then click Finish.
The Universe Builder Panel appears displaying the Analytic Workspace
Cube cubes available to the connection
5. Click the Cubes node.
The Analytic Workspaces (AW) available in the connection are displayed.
6. Expand a AW node to display the cubes available to the AW, then right
click a cube and select Create Universe from the context menu.
The Universe Builder wizard appears. Three options are available. These
are described in the section How to create a Oracle OLAP universe on
page 48.
7. Click the Create View and generate Universe radio button, then click
Next.
A status box appears showing the metadata loading status. A box showing
data type and data length information appears.
8. If required, modify the data type and length values. Do this as follows:
• Double click a data type or length value.
• Select a data type from the drop down list box.
• Click Next.
The Hierarchy level page appears. This page lists the hierarchy levels
with data types and values.
9. Edit hierarchy values if necessary, then click Next.
The View and universe options page appears.

10. Type a name for the view, and select view and universe options. The
View properties and universe options are as follows:
Options Description
Name for the view. You can edit

View Name
this field.
When selected, an extra column of

type Raw(32) is created in the view
Create Column for OLAP_EXPRES-
to enable the use of OLAP_EX-
SION
PRESSION function in the uni-
verse.
When selected, columns represent-

Create Columns for Identifiers ing the dimension members (identi-
fiers) are created.
When selected existing Type and

Replace existing database objects View structures are replaced in the
database.
When selected the universe is not

built from a view physically created
in the database, but is built by using
a derived table to reference the
cube structures. A derived table is
a virtual table that exists only in the
Use derived tables
universe that references database
structures. It is not created in the
database. This is useful when the
user does not have CREATE VIEW
rights, or if you do not want to accu-
mulate views in the database.

How to create a Oracle OLAP universe 6
Options Description
Only active when the Create

columns for identifiers option for
views is selected. When selected,
Transform object IDs to details
object IDs are transformed into de-
tail objects in the generated uni-
verse.
11. Click Next. The SQL verification page appears.

12. Verify the SQL for the view and click Next. The universe information
summary page appears.
13. Verify the universe information, and click Finish. Designer starts and
opens to the newly generated universe.
Create a view only
You can create a view using Analytic Workspace Cube metadata. The saved
view appears in a list of views. Once you have create the view, you can then
select the view at a later time and generate a universe. To create a view
only, follow the same procedure in the section Creating a view and generating
a universe on page 49Creating a view and generating a universe on page
49 but at the start of the Oracle OLAP Universe Builder wizard, you select
the Create View only radio button.
The view is created in the target database. You can connect to this view at
any time to create a universe. See the section Creating Oracle OLAP universe
from an existing view on page 52for the procedure on using a view to create
a universe.

Creating Oracle OLAP universe from an existing view
You can generate a universe from an existing view. Existing views appear
in a list. You select a view from the list and generate a universe.
1. Click the Oracle OLAP icon or tab.
2. Select File > Metadata Sources.
The Oracle OLAP Connection Wizard Welcome page appears.
3. Click Next.
The wizard login page appears.
4. Select a connection and enter user name and password.
5. Click Finish.
The Universe Builder Panel appears displaying the Analytic Workspace
Cube cubes available to the connection.
6. Click the Cubes node.
The Analytic Workspaces (AW) available in the connection are displayed.
Expand a AW node to display the cubes available to the AW.
7. Right click a cube and select Create Universe from the context menu.
The Universe Builder wizard appears. Three options are available. How
to create a Oracle OLAP universe on page 48 for a description of each
option.
8. Click the Generate Universe from View radio button.
9. Click Next.
A list of available views defined on the cube appears.
10. Click a view name in the list and click Next.
A status box shows the progress of metadata being loaded from the
selected cube. The Universe Creation page appears. It lists dimension,
measures, and hierarchy levels defined in the view that can be used to
create a universe.
11. If required, modify a column name or hierarchy level. Do this as follows:
• Double click a column name or level value.
• Select or type a name as appropriate.
12. Click Finish.
Designer starts and opens to the newly generated universe.

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A Get More Help

Index
C O
classes and objects Oracle Analytic Workspaces
in Oracle Analytic Workspaces universe 42 class and object mapping 42
dimension joins 42
hierarchy tables 42
D multi-hierarchy tables 42
dimension joins use of shortcut joins in universe 40
use in Oracle Analytic Workspaces universe view 42
42
S
H shortcut join
hierarchy tables use in Oracle Analytic Workspaces universe
use in Oracle Analytic Workspaces universe 40
42
V
M view
multi-hierarchy tables use in Oracle Analytic Workspaces universe
use in Oracle Analytic Workspaces universe 42
42

Index

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BusinessObjects Universe Builder

BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

Chapter 2 Universe Builder basics 9

Chapter 3 Building universes from XML metadata sources 11

Chapter 4 Updating XML metadata source universes 19

Chapter 5 Exporting a universe to a XML file format 23

BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide 3

Exporting a universe to DB2 Cube Views formats.....................................25

Chapter 6 Building universes from Oracle Analytic Services 37

Appendix A Get More Help 53

4 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

Overview of creating universes from

From Designer, you can create universes automatically from

Stand alone product installed with BusinessObjects XI Re-

What is Universe Builder?

Universe Builder and Designer

6 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

The universe creation mechanism for each supported metadata source is a

When do you use Universe Builder

Universe Builder is an independent product. You can update the metadata

Designer can not be updated with new or updated metadata exchange

You use either Designer or Universe Builder based on the following:

BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide 7

8 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

Starting Universe Builder

Login information Description

System Name of the CMS server.

User Name Your repository user name.

Password Your repository password.

Authentication Your security level

3. Click the OK button.

10 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

Overview of how you create a universe

You create a universe by following a metadata source wizard, that allows

The universe creation process for a Oracle Analytical Workspaces datasource

12 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

XML information Universe structure

Table or view Class, table

Table business name Class name

Column Object, column

Column business name Object name

Column SQL data type Object type

Table/column description Class/object description

Foreign key-Primary key relation-

Selecting a XML data source

BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide 13

3. Do one of the following:

Creating a universe from a XML data

14 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

Universe and connection options for a universe built

BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide 15

Listed connections are connections available

The name of the universe that will be generat-

When selected, if a universe with the same

Path to the trace folder. This is the folder that

Advanced Path to the default folder that stores the pa-

16 BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide

Setting trace log options

Tab Option Description

Path to the trace folder. This is the

Path to the default folder that stores

BusinessObjects Universe Builder Guide 17