About the Series ...
This
is the eighteenth article of the series, Introduction to MSSQL Server
2000 Analysis Services. As I stated in the first article, Creating Our First Cube, the primary focus of this series
is an introduction to the practical creation and manipulation of
multidimensional OLAP cubes. The series is designed to provide hands-on
application of the fundamentals of MS SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services ("MSAS"),
with each installment progressively adding features and techniques designed to
meet specific real - world needs. For more information on the series, as well
as the hardware / software requirements to prepare for the exercises we
will undertake, please see my initial article, Creating Our First Cube.
Note: Service Pack 3 updates are assumed for MSSQL
Server 2000, MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services, and the related Books
Online and Samples.
Introduction
In
this article, we will extend the exploration of calculated cells that we
began in our last session,
Using
Calculated Cells in Analysis Services, Part I. In
Part I we learned that calculated cells offer functionality previously
reserved for calculated members, custom members, and custom rollup formulas
(all of which we have explored in previous articles) to a specific range of
cells-or even to a single cell. We will revisit the construction of
a calculated cell, touching upon another means of creating one: through an MDX
query.
In this lesson, we will do the following:
-
Overview the
creation of calculated cells from the perspective of an MDX query
-
Discuss two
approaches to the creation of a calculated cell via an MDX query
-
Discuss the
ramifications of the two approaches, within the context of scope assigned by
each
-
Practice
creation of a calculated cell using the WITH clause in an MDX query
-
Parallel the methods
within the MDX query to mirror the actions we performed in Using Calculated Cells in Analysis
Services, Part I within the Analysis Services
Manager and associated subcomponents, including:
-
creation of a
calculated cell;
-
formatting of
calculated cell contents;
-
manipulation
of other cell properties, such as FORE COLOR and BACK COLOR, to
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