Perspectives

In complex data cubes it is currently difficult to identify which combinations of hierarchies in the dimensions make sense to use for a specific context. The same can also be true for dimensions of the cube. Especially if bigger data cubes with many dimensions are used and the alternate hierarchies are changing over time.

The idea of perspectives helps to assemble hierarchies in meaningful combinations and provide them as virtual views and cubes in the API and to the users. You can set different default elements in a perspective or even remove a dimension completely. This helps users in their context while working with the application.

Dimensions can be represented in a perspective in different ways:

Use the dimension in the same way as in the base cube. This means with all hierarchies and their respective default elements.
Use the dimension with all hierarchies but change the default element in one or more hierarchies.
Do not include the dimension. In this case, it must be specified in the perspective from which element to return the values.

Perspectives are created in relation to a base cube. The base cube must be a data cube, access cubes are not allowed.

Use Domain cubes to select perspectives which are filtered or driven by the same context dimensions. These cubes for perspective selection contain:

The Perspective dimension with the used perspectives or base cubes in the context as the Measure dimension.
The specific context dimensions.
The Domain_System dimension that consists of the numeric base elements Applicable and Configuration.

Within the Domain cube perspectives can be assigned to a specific context. A context is a combination of elements of the context dimensions in the Domain cube. Context dimensions must not be part of the base cubes as they are used for filtering.

Perspectives which are driven or filtered by context are named Context Perspectives. The Alea:ContextRelated property indicates if a perspective is with context or contextless.