Hands-On Procedure
Let's get some
hands-on practice in creating a Data Source View. First, we will create
a new project within the Business Intelligence Development Studio,
wherein we will create a Data Source pointed to a database sample
provided with MSSQL Server 2005, so that anyone with access to the
installed application and its samples can complete the steps in the practice
session.
Preparation
Create a New Analysis Services Project
We begin our preparation
within Business Intelligence Development Studio, where we will create a
new Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) Project.
As I have already mentioned, those of us who have worked within earlier
versions of Reporting Services, or within the Visual Studio
development environment under other circumstances, will recognize the general look
and feel of the Studio. Under this new style of development for Analysis
Services, to which much of the documentation refers as "project
mode," we create an Analysis Services Project, which houses a
set of Analysis Services objects. The object set can include Data
Sources, Data Source Views, Dimensions, Cubes, and
other components.
While we
will not go into the processes "downstream" of our immediate topic, Data
Source Views, in this article, let's make a mental note that everything we
create and store within a given project are defined as files (using an XML
representation) that eventually are deployed to an Analysis Services
database.
1.
Click the Start
button.
2.
Select Microsoft
SQL Server 2005 within the Program group of the menu.
3.
Click SQL
Server Business Intelligence Development Studio, as depicted in Illustration
1.
Illustration 1: Opening
SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio
The Microsoft Visual
Studio 2005 development environment opens, beginning with the Start page,
as shown in Illustration 2.
Illustration 2: The
Start Page, Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Development Environment (Compressed
View)
4.
Close the Start
Page tab.
5.
Select File
--> New on the Visual Studio main
menu.
6.
Select Project
from the cascading menu, as depicted in Illustration 3.
Illustration 3: Beginning
a New Project ...
The New
Project dialog appears.
7.
Select Business
Intelligence Projects in the Project types pane of the dialog.
8.
Select Analysis
Services Project in the Templates pane, as shown in Illustration
4.
Illustration 4: Select
Analysis Services Project
NOTE: The
templates that appear in your template pane may differ, depending upon which SQL
Server 2005 components are installed in your environment, as well as
whether additional templates (for Business Intelligence Projects or
other types of projects that can be created) have been defined in Visual
Studio.
9.
Change the
project Name (currently displaying a default) to the following:
ANSYS040 Data Source View
Notice that the Solution
Name changes to match the project Name by default.
10. Navigate to a convenient location
to store the Project and Solution files, modifying the Location
box accordingly, (Visual Studio will create a directory based upon our
input here).
The New Project dialog
appears similar to that depicted in Illustration 5.
Illustration 5: The New
Project Dialog, with our Input
11. Click OK to accept our input and to create
the new Analysis Services Project.
The New Project dialog
closes, as Visual Studio creates the project and solution files. The ANSYS040
Data Source View project appears in the Solution Explorer as shown in
Illustration 6.
Illustration 6: The ANSYS040
Data Source View Project Appears
Solution Explorer presents a tree view of the
objects contained in the solution, which can contain multiple projects.
Individual projects, such as the one we have created, themselves contain
folders for the objects that can be defined for projects of a similar type. As
we can see in the present instance, the Analysis Services Project
template, upon which our ANSYS040 Data Source View project was based,
contains the following folders:
-
Data Sources
-
Data Source
Views
-
Cubes
-
Dimensions
-
Mining
Structures
-
Roles
-
Assemblies
-
Miscellaneous
Anytime we create a new Analysis
Services Project, the Solution Explorer and the Properties
window are visible and docked, as we see them in the present case. The following
windows are hidden and docked, initially, and appear on the right, bottom, or
left side of the development environment, depending upon where they are docked:
-
Server
Explorer
-
Toolbox
-
Task List
-
Error List
Viewing any of the hidden
windows is as simple as positioning the pointer over it – its mouseover
behavior is to reappear. We can also click the Auto Hide button
(depicted for the Solution Explorer in Illustration 7) to hide or
unhide a window.
Illustration 7: The Auto
Hide Button – Solution Explorer
Finally, we can always
open a closed window by selecting it from the View menu atop the
development environment, as shown in Illustration 8.
Illustration 8: Reopen
Closed Windows from the View Menu ...
Having created a new Analysis
Services Project, we are ready to define a Data Source and Data
Source View.
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