Oracle OLAP Java API Reference.

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          Description

Oracle OLAP Java API Reference.

This is the online reference documentation for the Oracle^® OLAP API, the Java application programming interface for Oracle OLAP. For updated versions of this documentation as they become available, see the Oracle Technology Network Web site at

http://otn.oracle.com/products/bi/olap/olap.html

Intended Audience

This documentation is intended for Java programmers who are responsible for creating applications that perform online analytical processing. It assumes that you are already familiar with Java, relational database management systems, data warehousing, and online analytical processing (OLAP) concepts.

Before You Begin

Before you can use the Oracle OLAP API, you must add the Oracle OLAP API classes to your Java development environment. You must also have access to an Oracle Database instance that has the OLAP option installed. In addition, that database must include data that has been prepared as a data warehouse and supplied with OLAP Catalog metadata. For information on setting up the Oracle OLAP API client files, see Oracle OLAP Developer's Guide to the OLAP API. For information on installing an Oracle database with the OLAP option, see your Oracle Database installation documentation. For information on creating OLAP Catalog metadata, see Oracle OLAP Application Developer's Guide.

Examples of Using the OLAP API

The examples of OLAP API code in this documentation use OLAP Catalog metadata that is mapped to the tables of the Global schema, which is a sample relational schema. You can download SQL scripts that create the Global schema and OLAP Catalog metadata for it from the Oracle Technology Network Web site at

http://otn.oracle.com/products/bi/olap/olap.html

For more information on the Global schema, see Oracle OLAP Developer's Guide to the OLAP API.

For programs that include the code from some of the examples in this documentation and the examples in Oracle OLAP Application Developer's Guide, see Example Oracle OLAP Java API Programs.

Unique and Local Values in the OLAP API

The elements of an OLAP Catalog dimension are usually organized into one or more hierarchies. Some hierarchies have parent-child relationships based on levels and some have those relationships based on values. In the OLAP API a dimension always has at least one hierarchy dimension object and that hierarchy object has at least one level object. Even a nonhierarchical dimension is represented by a hierarchy dimension object with one level object.

The OLAP API uses a three-part format to specify the hierarchy, the level, and the value of a dimension element, and thus identify a unique value. The first part of a unique value is the name of the hierarchy object, the second part is the name of the level object, and the third part is the value of the element in the level. The parts of the unique value are separated by a value separation string, which by default is double colons (::). The following is an example of unique value in the YEAR level of the CALENDAR hierarchy of the TIME dimension:

CALENDAR::YEAR::4

The third part of a unique value is the local value. In the preceding example, the local value is 4, which is the identifier for the year 2001 in the Global schema. The OLAP API has classes and methods that you can use to get the local values of dimension elements. See the descriptions of the MdmPrimaryDimension and MdmDimensionMemberInfo classes for more information about unique and local values.

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/.

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle Corporation does not own or control. Oracle Corporation neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Related Documentation

The following documentation is helpful when using Oracle OLAP.

• Oracle OLAP Developer's Guide to the OLAP API -- Introduces the Oracle OLAP API, a Java application programming interface for Oracle OLAP, which is used to perform online analytical processing of the data stored in an Oracle database. Describes the API and how to discover Oracle OLAP metadata, create queries, and retrieve data.
• Oracle OLAP Application Developer's Guide -- Explains how SQL and Java applications can extend their analytic processing capabilities by using the OLAP option in the Enterprise Edition of Oracle Database.
• Oracle OLAP Analytic Workspace Java API Reference -- Describes the classes and methods in the Oracle OLAP Java API for building and maintaining analytic workspaces.
• Oracle OLAP Reference -- Explains the syntax of PL/SQL packages and types and the column structure of views related to Oracle OLAP.
• Oracle OLAP DML Reference -- Contains a complete description of the OLAP Data Manipulation Language (OLAP DML) used to define and manipulate analytic workspace objects.
• Oracle Data Warehousing Guide -- Discusses the database structures, concepts, and issues involved in creating a data warehouse to support online analytical processing solutions.