Pentaho Analysis Services: How to Design a Mondrian Schema

How to Design a Mondrian Schema

1. What is a schema?
2. Schema files
   1. Annotation
3. Logical model
   1. Cube
   2. Measures
   3. Dimensions, Hierarchies, Levels
   1. Mapping dimensions and hierarchies onto tables
   2. The 'All' member
   3. Time dimensions
   4. Order and Display of Levels
   5. Multiple hierarchies
   6. Degenerate dimensions
   7. Inline tables
   8. Member properties and formatters
   9. Approximate level cardinality
   10. Default Measure Attribute
   11. Functional Dependency Optimizations
   12. Table Hints
4. Star and snowflake schemas
   1. Shared dimensions
   2. Join optimization
5. Advanced logical constructs
   1. Virtual cubes
   2. Parent-child hierarchies
      1. Tuning parent-child hierarchies
      2. Closure tables
      3. Populating closure tables
   3. Member properties
   4. Calculated members
   5. Named sets
6. Plug-ins
   1. User-defined function
   2. Member reader
   3. Cell reader
   4. Cell formatter
   5. Member formatter
   6. Property formatter
   7. Schema processor
   8. Data source change listener
   9. Dynamic datasource xmla servlet
7. Internationalization
8. Aggregate tables
9. Access-control
   1. Defining a role
   2. Rollup policy
   3. Union roles
   4. Setting a connection's role
10. Appendix A: XML elements

### 1. What is a schema?

A schema defines a multi-dimensional database. It contains a logical model, consisting of cubes, hierarchies, and members, and a mapping of this model onto a physical model.

The logical model consists of the constructs used to write queries in MDX language: cubes, dimensions, hierarchies, levels, and members.

The physical model is the source of the data which is presented through the logical model. It is typically a star schema, which is a set of tables in a relational database; later, we shall see examples of other kinds of mappings.

### 2. Schema files

Mondrian schemas are represented in an XML file. An example schema, containing almost all of the constructs we discuss here, is supplied as `demo/FoodMart.xml` in the Mondrian distribution. The dataset to populate this schema is also in the distribution.

Currently, the only way to create a schema is to edit a schema XML file in a text editor. The XML syntax is not too complicated, so this is not as difficult as it sounds, particularly if you use the FoodMart schema as a guiding example.

The structure of the XML document is as follows:

> `
> <Schema>
> <Cube>
> <Table>
> <AggName>
> aggElements
> <AggPattern>
> aggElements
> <Dimension>
> <Hierarchy>
> relation
> <Closure/>
> <Level>
> <KeyExpression>
> <SQL/>
> <NameExpression>
> <SQL/>
> <CaptionExpression>
> <SQL/>
> <OrdinalExpression>
> <SQL/>
> <ParentExpression>
> <SQL/>
> <Property>
> <PropertyExpression>
> <SQL/>
> <DimensionUsage>
> <Measure>
> <MeasureExpression>
> <SQL/>
> <CalculatedMemberProperty/>
> <CalculatedMember>
> <Formula/>
> <CalculatedMemberProperty/>
> <NamedSet>
> <Formula/>
> <VirtualCube>
> <CubeUsages>
> <CubeUsage>
> <VirtualCubeDimension>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure>
> <Role>
> <SchemaGrant>
> <CubeGrant>
> <DimensionGrant>
> <HierarchyGrant>
> <MemberGrant/>
> <Union>
> <RoleUsage/>
> <UserDefinedFunction/>
> <Parameter/>
> relation ::=
> <Table>
> <SQL/>
> <View>
> <SQL/>
> <InlineTable>
> <ColumnDefs>
> <ColumnDef>
> <Rows>
> <Row>
> <Value>
> <Join>
> relation
> aggElement ::=
> <AggExclude>
> <AggFactCount>
> <AggIgnoreColumn>
> <AggForeignKey>
> <AggMeasure>
> <AggLevel>
> `

NOTE: The order of XML elements is important. For example, the `<UserDefinedFunction>` element has to occur inside the `<Schema>` element after all collections of `<Cube>`, `<VirtualCube>`, `<NamedSet>` and `<Role>` elements. If you include it before the first `<Cube>` element, the rest of the schema will be ignored.

The content of each XML element is described in Appendix A and in the XML schema.

# 2.1 Annotation

The major element types (schema, cube, virtual cube, shared dimension, dimension, hierarchy, level, measure, calculated member) support annotations. An annotation is a way of associating a user-defined property with a metadata element, and in particular, allows tools to add metadata without extending the official Mondrian schema.

Create an `<Annotations>` element as a child of the element you wish to annotate (generally it is the first child element, but check the schema definition for details), then include a number of `<Annotation>` elements. `<Annotation>` elements' names must be unique within their element. If you are adding annotations to support a particular tool that you maintain, choose annotation names carefully, to ensure that they do not clash with annotations used by other tools.

The following example shows "Author" and "Date" annotations attached to a `<Schema>` object.

> `
> <Schema name="Rock Sales">
> <Annotations>
> <Annotation name="Author">Fred Flintstone</Annotation>
> <Annotation name="Date">10,000 BC</Annotation>
> </Annotations>
> <Cube name="Sales">
> ...
> `

### 3. Logical model

The most important components of a schema are cubes, measures, and dimensions:

- A cube is a collection of dimensions and measures in a particular subject area.
- A measure is a quantity that you are interested in measuring, for example, unit sales of a product, or cost price of inventory items.
- A dimension is an attribute, or set of attributes, by which you can divide measures into sub-categories. For example, you might wish to break down product sales by their color, the gender of the customer, and the store in which the product was sold; color, gender, and store are all dimensions.

Let's look at the XML definition of a simple schema.

> `
> <Schema>
> <Cube name="Sales">
> <Table name="sales_fact_1997"/>
> <Dimension name="Gender" foreignKey="customer_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" allMemberName="All Genders" primaryKey="customer_id">
> <Table name="customer"/>
> <Level name="Gender" column="gender" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> <Dimension name="Time" foreignKey="time_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="false" primaryKey="time_id">
> <Table name="time_by_day"/>
> <Level name="Year" column="the_year" type="Numeric" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> <Level name="Quarter" column="quarter" uniqueMembers="false"/>
> <Level name="Month" column="month_of_year" type="Numeric" uniqueMembers="false"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> <Measure name="Unit Sales" column="unit_sales" aggregator="sum" formatString="#,###"/>
> <Measure name="Store Sales" column="store_sales" aggregator="sum" formatString="#,###.##"/>
> <Measure name="Store Cost" column="store_cost" aggregator="sum" formatString="#,###.00"/>
> <CalculatedMember name="Profit" dimension="Measures" formula="[Measures].[Store Sales] - [Measures].[Store Cost]">
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="FORMAT_STRING" value="$#,##0.00"/>
> </CalculatedMember>
> </Cube>
> </Schema>
> `

This schema contains a single cube, called "Sales". The Sales cube has two dimensions, "Time", and "Gender", and four measures, "Unit Sales", "Store Sales", "Store Cost", and "Profit".

We can write an MDX query on this schema:

> `SELECT {[Measures].[Unit Sales], [Measures].[Store Sales]} ON COLUMNS,
> {descendants([Time].[1997].[Q1])} ON ROWS
> FROM [Sales]
> WHERE [Gender].[F]`

This query refers to the Sales cube (`[Sales]`), each of the dimensions `[Measures]`, `[Time]`, `[Gender`], and various members of those dimensions. The results are as follows:

> `[Time]` | `[Measures].[Unit Sales]` | `[Measures].[Store Sales]`
> `[1997].[Q1]` | 0 | 0
> `[1997].[Q1].[Jan]` | 0 | 0
> `[1997].[Q1].[Feb]` | 0 | 0
> `[1997].[Q1].[Mar]` | 0 | 0

Now let's look at the schema definition in more detail.

# 3.1 Cube

A cube (see `<Cube>`) is a named collection of measures and dimensions. The one thing the measures and dimensions have in common is the fact table, here `"sales_fact_1997"`. As we shall see, the fact table holds the columns from which measures are calculated, and contains references to the tables which hold the dimensions.

> `
> <Cube name="Sales">
> <Table name="sales_fact_1997"/>
> ...
> </Cube>
> `

The fact table is defined using the `<Table>` element. If the fact table is not in the default schema, you can provide an explicit schema using the "schema" attribute, for example

> `
> <Table schema=" dmart" name="sales_fact_1997"/>
> `

You can also use the `<View>` construct to build more complicated SQL statements. The `<Join>` construct is not supported for fact tables.

# 3.2 Measures

The Sales cube defines several measures, including "Unit Sales" and "Store Sales".

> `
> <Measure name="Unit Sales" column="unit_sales" aggregator="sum" datatype="Integer" formatString="#,###"/>
> <Measure name="Store Sales" column="store_sales" aggregator="sum" datatype="Numeric" formatString="#,###.00"/>
> `

Each measure (see `<Measure>`) has a name, a column in the fact table, and an `aggregator`. The aggregator is usually "sum", but "count", "min", "max", "avg", and "distinct-count" are also allowed; "distinct-count" has some limitations if your cube contains a parent-child hierarchy.

The optional `datatype` attribute specifies how cell values are represented in Mondrian's cache, and how they are returned via XML for Analysis. The `datatype` attribute can have values "`String`", "`Integer`", "`Numeric`", "`Boolean`", "`Date`", "`Time`", and "`Timestamp`". The default is "`Numeric`", except for "`count`" and "`distinct-count`" measures, which are "`Integer`".

An optional `formatString` attribute specifies how the value is to be printed. Here, we have chosen to output unit sales with no decimal places (since it is an integer), and store sales with two decimal places (since it is a currency value). The ',' and '.' symbols are locale-sensitive, so if you were running in Italian, store sales might appear as "48.123,45". You can achieve even more wild effects using advanced format strings.

A measure can have a caption attribute to be returned by the `Member.getCaption()` method instead of the name. Defining a specific caption does make sense if special letters (e.g. Σ or Π) are to be displayed:

> `
> <Measure name="Sum X" column="sum_x" aggregator="sum" caption="&#931; X"/>
> `

Rather than coming from a column, a measure can use a cell reader, or a measure can use a SQL expression to calculate its value. The measure "Promotion Sales" is an example of this.

> `
> <Measure name="Promotion Sales" aggregator="sum" formatString="#,###.00">
> <MeasureExpression>
> <SQL dialect="generic">
> (case when sales_fact_1997.promotion_id =
> 0 then 0 else sales_fact_1997.store_sales end)
> </SQL>
> </MeasureExpression>
> </Measure>
> `

In this case, sales are only included in the summation if they correspond to a promotion sale. Arbitrary SQL expressions can be used, including subqueries. However, the underlying database must be able to support that SQL expression in the context of an aggregate. Variations in syntax between different databases is handled by specifying the dialect in the SQL tag.

In order to provide a specific formatting of the cell values, a measure can use a cell formatter.

# 3.3 Dimensions, Hierarchies, Levels

Some more definitions:

- A member is a point within a dimension determined by a particular set of attribute values. The gender hierarchy has the two members 'M' and 'F'. 'San Francisco', 'California' and 'USA' are all members of the store hierarchy.
- A hierarchy is a set of members organized into a structure for convenient analysis. For example, the store hierarchy consists of the store name, city, state, and nation. The hierarchy allows you to form intermediate sub-totals: the sub-total for a state is the sum of the sub-totals of all of the cities in that state, each of which is the sum of the sub-totals of the stores in that city.
- A level is a collection of members which have the same distance from the root of the hierarchy.
- A dimension is a collection of hierarchies which discriminate on the same fact table attribute (say, the day that a sale occurred).

For reasons of uniformity, measures are treated as members of a special dimension, called 'Measures'.

# An example

Let's look at a simple dimension.

> `
> <Dimension name="Gender" foreignKey="customer_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" primaryKey="customer_id">
> <Table name="customer"/>
> <Level name="Gender" column="gender" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

This dimension consists of a single hierarchy, which consists of a single level called `Gender`. (As we shall see later, there is also a special level called `[(All)]` containing a grand total.)

The values for the dimension come from the `gender` column in the `customer` table. The "gender" column contains two values, 'F' and 'M', so the Gender dimension contains the members `[Gender].[F]` and `[Gender].[M]`.

For any given sale, the gender dimension is the gender of the customer who made that purchase. This is expressed by joining from the fact table "sales_fact_1997.customer_id" to the dimension table "customer.customer_id".

# 3.3.1 Mapping dimensions and hierarchies onto tables

A dimension is joined to a cube by means of a pair of columns, one in the fact table, the other in the dimension table. The `<Dimension>` element has a `foreignKey` attribute, which is the name of a column in the fact table; the `<Hierarchy>` element has a `primaryKey` attribute.

If the hierarchy has more than one table, you can disambiguate using the `primaryKeyTable` attribute.

The `column` attribute defines the key of the level. It must be the name of a column in the level's table. If the key is an expression, you can instead use the `<KeyExpression>` element inside the Level. The following is equivalent to the above example:

> `
> <Dimension name="Gender" foreignKey="customer_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" primaryKey="customer_id">
> <Table name="customer"/>
> <Level name="Gender" column="gender" uniqueMembers="true">
> <KeyExpression>
> <SQL dialect="generic">customer.gender</SQL>
> </KeyExpression>
> </Level>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

Other attributes of `<Level>`, `<Measure>` and `<Property>` have corresponding nested elements:

Parent element | Attribute | Equivalent nested element | Description
`<Level>` | `column` | `<KeyExpression>` | Key of level.
`<Level>` | `nameColumn` | `<NameExpression>` | Expression which defines the name of members of this level. If not specified, the level key is used.
`<Level>` | `ordinalColumn` | `<OrdinalExpression>` | Expression which defines the order of members. If not specified, the level key is used.
`<Level>` | `captionColumn` | `<CaptionExpression>` | Expression which forms the caption of members. If not specified, the level name is used.
`<Level>` | `parentColumn` | `<ParentExpression>` | Expression by which child members reference their parent member in a parent-child hierarchy. Not specified in a regular hierarchy.
`<Measure>` | `column` | `<MeasureExpression>` | SQL expression to calculate the value of the measure (the argument to the SQL aggregate function).
`<Property>` | `column` | `<PropertyExpression>` | SQL expression to calculate the value of the property.

The `uniqueMembers` attribute is used to optimize SQL generation. If you know that the values of a given level column in the dimension table are unique across all the other values in that column across the parent levels, then set `uniqueMembers="true"`, otherwise, set to `"false"`. For example, a time dimension like `[Year].[Month]` will have `uniqueMembers="false"` at the Month level, as the same month appears in different years. On the other hand, if you had a `[Product Class].[Product Name]` hierarchy, and you were sure that `[Product Name]` was unique, then you can set `uniqueMembers="true"`. If you are not sure, then always set `uniqueMembers="false"`. At the top level, this will always be `uniqueMembers="true"`, as there is no parent level.

The `highCardinality` attribute is used to notify Mondrian there are undefined and very high number of elements for this dimension. Acceptable values are `true` or `false` (last one is default value). Actions performed over the whole set of dimension elements cannot be performed when using `highCardinality="true"`.

# 3.3.2 The 'all' member

By default, every hierarchy contains a top level called '`(All)`', which contains a single member called '`(All {hierarchyName})`'. This member is parent of all other members of the hierarchy, and thus represents a grand total. It is also the default member of the hierarchy; that is, the member which is used for calculating cell values when the hierarchy is not included on an axis or in the slicer. The `allMemberName` and `allLevelName` attributes override the default names of the all level and all member.

If the `<Hierarchy>` element has `hasAll="false"`, the 'all' level is suppressed. The default member of that dimension will now be the first member of the first level; for example, in a Time hierarchy, it will be the first year in the hierarchy. Changing the default member can be confusing, so you should generally use `hasAll="true"`.

The `<Hierarchy>` element also has a `defaultMember` attribute, to override the default member of the hierarchy:

> `
> <Dimension name="Time" type="TimeDimension" foreignKey="time_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="false" primaryKey="time_id" defaultMember="[Time].[1997].[Q1].[1]"/>
> ...
> `

# 3.3.3 Time dimensions

Time dimensions based on year/month/week/day are coded differently in the Mondrian schema due to the MDX time related functions such as:

- `ParallelPeriod([level[, index[, member]]])`
- `PeriodsToDate([level[, member]])`
- `WTD([member])`
- `MTD([member])`
- `QTD([member])`
- `YTD([member])`
- `LastPeriod(index[, member])`

Time dimensions have `type="TimeDimension"`. The role of a level in a time dimension is indicated by the level's `levelType` attribute, whose allowable values are as follows:

`levelType` value | Meaning
TimeYears | Level is a year
TimeQuarters | Level is a quarter
TimeMonths | Level is a month
TimeWeeks | Level is a week
TimeDays | Level represents days

Here is an example of a time dimension:

> `
> <Dimension name="Time" type="TimeDimension">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" allMemberName="All Periods" primaryKey="dateid">
> <Table name="datehierarchy"/>
> <Level name="Year" column="year" uniqueMembers="true" levelType="TimeYears" type="Numeric"/>
> <Level name="Quarter" column="quarter" uniqueMembers="false" levelType="TimeQuarters"/>
> <Level name="Month" column="month" uniqueMembers="false" ordinalColumn="month" nameColumn="month_name" levelType="TimeMonths" type="Numeric"/>
> <Level name="Week" column="week_in_month" uniqueMembers="false" levelType="TimeWeeks"/>
> <Level name="Day" column="day_in_month" uniqueMembers="false" ordinalColumn="day_in_month" nameColumn="day_name" levelType="TimeDays" type="Numeric"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

# 3.3.4 Order and display of levels

Notice in the time hierarchy example above the `ordinalColumn` and `nameColumn` attributes on the `<Level>` element. These affect how levels are displayed in a result. The `ordinalColumn` attribute specifies a column in the Hierarchy table that provides the order of the members in a given level, while the `nameColumn` specifies a column that will be displayed.

For example, in the Month level above, the `datehierarchy` table has month (1 .. 12) and month_name (January, February, ...) columns. The column value that will be used internally within MDX is the month column, so valid member specifications will be of the form: `[Time].[2005].[Q1].[1]`. Members of the `[Month]` level will be displayed in the order January, February, etc.

In a parent-child hierarchy, members are always sorted in hierarchical order. The `ordinalColumn` attribute controls the order that siblings appear within their parent.

Ordinal columns may be of any datatype which can legally be used in an ORDER BY clause. Scope of ordering is per-parent, so in the example above, the day_in_month column should cycle for each month. Values returned by the JDBC driver should be non-null instances of java.lang.Comparable which yield the desired ordering when their `Comparable.compareTo` method is called.

Levels contain a `type` attribute, which can have values "`String`", "`Integer`", "`Numeric`", "`Boolean`", "`Date`", "`Time`", and "`Timestamp`". The default value is `"Numeric"` because key columns generally have a numeric type. If it is a different type, Mondrian needs to know this so it can generate SQL statements correctly; for example, string values will be generated enclosed in single quotes:

> `WHERE productSku = '123-455-AA'`

# 3.3.5 Multiple hierarchies

A dimension can contain more than one hierarchy:

> `
> <Dimension name="Time" foreignKey="time_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="false" primaryKey="time_id">
> <Table name="time_by_day"/>
> <Level name="Year" column="the_year" type="Numeric" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> <Level name="Quarter" column="quarter" uniqueMembers="false"/>
> <Level name="Month" column="month_of_year" type="Numeric" uniqueMembers="false"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> <Hierarchy name="Time Weekly" hasAll="false" primaryKey="time_id">
> <Table name="time_by_week"/>
> <Level name="Year" column="the_year" type="Numeric" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> <Level name="Week" column="week" uniqueMembers="false"/>
> <Level name="Day" column="day_of_week" type="String" uniqueMembers="false"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

Notice that the first hierarchy doesn't have a name. By default, a hierarchy has the same name as its dimension, so the first hierarchy is called "Time".

These hierarchies don't have much in common -- they don't even have the same table! -- except that they are joined from the same column in the fact table, `"time_id"`. The main reason to put two hierarchies in the same dimension is because it makes more sense to the end-user: end-users know that it makes no sense to have the "Time" hierarchy on one axis and the "Time Weekly" hierarchy on another axis. If two hierarchies are the same dimension, the MDX language enforces common sense, and does not allow you to use them both in the same query.

# 3.3.6 Degenerate dimensions

A degenerate dimension is a dimension which is so simple that it isn't worth creating its own dimension table. For example, consider following the fact table:

product_id | time_id | payment_method | customer_id | store_id | item_count | dollars
55 | 20040106 | Credit | 123 | 22 | 3 | $3.54
78 | 20040106 | Cash | 89 | 22 | 1 | $20.00
199 | 20040107 | ATM | 3 | 22 | 2 | $2.99
55 | 20040106 | Cash | 122 | 22 | 1 | $1.18

and suppose we created a dimension table for the values in the `payment_method` column:

payment_method
Credit
Cash
ATM

This dimension table is fairly pointless. It only has 3 values, adds no additional information, and incurs the cost of an extra join.

Instead, you can create a degenerate dimension. To do this, declare a dimension without a table, and Mondrian will assume that the columns come from the fact table.

> `
> <Cube name="Checkout">
> <!-- The fact table is always necessary. -->
> <Table name="checkout">
> <Dimension name="Payment method">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true">
> <!-- No table element here. Fact table is assumed. -->
> <Level name="Payment method" column="payment_method" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> <!-- other dimensions and measures -->
> </Cube>
> `

Note that because there is no join, the `foreignKey` attribute of `Dimension` is not necessary, and the `Hierarchy` element has no `<Table>` child element or `primaryKey` attribute.

# 3.3.7 Inline tables

The `<InlineTable>` construct allows you to define a dataset in the schema file. You must declare the names of the columns, the column types ("String" or "Numeric"), and a set of rows. As for `<Table>` and `<View>`, you must provide a unique alias with which to refer to the dataset.

Here is an example:

> `
> <Dimension name="Severity">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" primaryKey="severity_id">
> <InlineTable alias="severity">
> <ColumnDefs>
> <ColumnDef name="id" type="Numeric"/>
> <ColumnDef name="desc" type="String"/>
> </ColumnDefs>
> <Rows>
> <Row>
> <Value column="id">1</Value>
> <Value column="desc">High</Value>
> </Row>
> <Row>
> <Value column="id">2</Value>
> <Value column="desc">Medium</Value>
> </Row>
> <Row>
> <Value column="id">3</Value>
> <Value column="desc">Low</Value>
> </Row>
> </Rows>
> </InlineTable>
> <Level name="Severity" column="id" nameColumn="desc" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

This has the same effect as if you had a table called 'severity' in your database:

id | desc
1 | High
2 | Medium
3 | Low

and the declaration

> `
> <Dimension name="Severity">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" primaryKey="severity_id">
> <Table name="severity"/>
> <Level name="Severity" column="id" nameColumn="desc" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

To specify a NULL value for a column, omit the `<Value>` for that column, and the column's value will default to NULL.

# 3.3.8 Member properties and formatters

As we shall see later, a level definition can also define member properties and a member formatter.

# 3.3.9 Approximate level cardinality

The <Level> element allows specifying the optional attribute "approxRowCount". Specifying `approxRowCount` can improve performance by reducing the need to determine level, hierarchy, and dimension cardinality. This can have a significant impact when connecting to Mondrian via XMLA.

# 3.3.10 Default Measure Attribute

The <Cube> and <VirtualCube> elements allow specifying the optional attribute "defaultMeasure".

Specifying `defaultMeasure` in <Cube> element allows users to explicitly specify any base measure as a default Measure.

Specifying `defaultMeasure` in <VirtualCube> element allows users to explicitly specify any VirtualCube Measure as a default Measure.

Note that if a default measure is not specified it takes the first measure defined in the cube as the default measure. In the case of virtual cube, it would pick up the first base measure of the first cube defined within it as the default.

Specifying the `defaultMeasure` explicitly would be useful in cases where you would want a calculated member to be picked up as the default measure. To facilitate this, the calculated member could be defined in one of the base cubes and specified as the `defaultMeasure` in the virtual cube.

> `
> <Cube name="Sales" defaultMeasure="Unit Sales">
> ...
> <CalculatedMember name="Profit" dimension="Measures">
> <Formula>[Measures].[Store Sales] - [Measures].[Store Cost]</Formula>
> ...
> </CalculatedMember>
> </Cube>
> <VirtualCube name="Warehouse and Sales" defaultMeasure="Profit">
> ...
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Sales" name="[Measures].[Profit]"/>
> </VirtualCube>
> `

# 3.3.11 Functional Dependency Optimizations

In some circumstances, it may be possible to optimize performance by taking advantage of known functional dependencies in the data being processed. Such dependencies are typically the result of business rules associated with the systems producing the data, and often cannot be inferred just by looking at the data itself.

Functional dependencies are declared to Mondrian using the `dependsOnLevelValue` attribute of the <Property> element and the `uniqueKeyLevelName` attribute of the <Hierarchy> element.

The `dependsOnLevelValue` attribute of a member property is used to indicate that the value of the member property is functionally dependent on the value of the <Level> in which the member property is defined. In other words, for a given value of the level, the value of the property is invariant.

The `uniqueKeyLevelName` attribute of a <Hierarchy> is used to indicate that the given level (if any) taken together with all higher levels in the hierarchy acts as a unique alternate key, ensuring that for any unique combination of those level values, there is exactly one combination of values for all levels below it.

To illustrate, consider a hierarchy modeling cars built and licensed in the United States:

> `
> <Dimension name="Automotive" foreignKey="auto_dim_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" primaryKey="auto_dim_id" uniqueKeyLevelName="Vehicle Identification Number">
> <Table name="automotive_dim"/>
> <Level name="Make" column="make_id" type="Numeric"/>
> <Level name="Model" column="model_id" type="Numeric"/>
> <Level name="ManufacturingPlant" column="plant_id" type="Numeric"/>
> <Property name="State" column="plant_state_id" type="Numeric" dependsOnLevelValue="true"/>
> <Property name="City" column="plant_city_id" type="Numeric" dependsOnLevelValue="true"/>
> <Level name="Vehicle Identification Number" column="vehicle_id" type="Numeric"/>
> <Property name="Color" column="color_id" type="Numeric" dependsOnLevelValue="true"/>
> <Property name="Trim" column="trim_id" type="Numeric" dependsOnLevelValue="true"/>
> <Level name="LicensePlateNum" column="license_id" type="String"/>
> <Property name="State" column="license_state_id" type="Numeric" dependsOnLevelValue="true"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

In the above example, we know that a given manufacturing plant exists only in a single city and state, that a given car only has one color scheme and one trim level, and that the license number is associated with a single state. Therefore, we can state that all of these member properties are functionally dependent on the associated level values.

Additionally, we know that the Vehicle Identification Number uniquely identifies each car, and that each car only has one license. Thus, we know that the combination of Make, Model, Manufacturing Plant, and Vehicle Identification Number uniquely identifies each vehicle; the license number is redundant.

These attributes enable optimization of the GROUP BY clause in the SQL statements Mondrian generates. Absent any functional dependency information, a typical query on the Automotive dimension would look something like:

> `
> SELECT
> `automotive_dim`.`make_id` AS c0,
> `automotive_dim`.`model_id` AS c1,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_id` AS c2,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_state_id` AS c3,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_city_id` AS c4,
> `automotive_dim`.`vehicle_id` AS c5,
> `automotive_dim`.`color_id` AS c6,
> `automotive_dim`.`trim_id` AS c7,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_id` AS c8,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_state_id` AS c9
> FROM
> `automotive_dim` AS `automotive_dim`,
> GROUP BY
> `automotive_dim`.`make_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`model_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_state_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_city_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`vehicle_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`color_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`trim_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_state_id`
> ORDER BY
> `...
> `

Given the functional dependence attributes in the schema example above, however, we know that the query is selecting at a depth that includes the "unique key" level, and that all properties in the query are also functionally dependent on their levels. In such cases the GROUP BY clause is redundant and may be eliminated completely, increasing SQL query performance significantly on some databases:

> `
> SELECT
> `automotive_dim`.`make_id` AS c0,
> `automotive_dim`.`model_id` AS c1,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_id` AS c2,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_state_id` AS c3,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_city_id` AS c4,
> `automotive_dim`.`vehicle_id` AS c5,
> `automotive_dim`.`color_id` AS c6,
> `automotive_dim`.`trim_id` AS c7,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_id` AS c8,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_state_id` AS c9
> FROM
> `automotive_dim` AS `automotive_dim`,
> ORDER BY
> `...
> `

Had the query not been deep enough to include the "unique key" level, or had any of the member properties not been functionally dependent on their level, this optimization would not be possible.

In some cases, a different optimization can be made where there is no "unique key" level, but some or all of the member properties are functionally dependent on their level. Some databases (notably MySQL) permit columns to be listed in the SELECT clause that do not also appear in the GROUP BY clause. On such databases, Mondrian can simply leave the functionally dependent member properties out of the GROUP BY, which may reduce SQL query processing time substantially:

> `
> SELECT
> `automotive_dim`.`make_id` AS c0,
> `automotive_dim`.`model_id` AS c1,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_id` AS c2,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_state_id` AS c3,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_city_id` AS c4,
> `automotive_dim`.`vehicle_id` AS c5,
> `automotive_dim`.`color_id` AS c6,
> `automotive_dim`.`trim_id` AS c7,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_id` AS c8,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_state_id` AS c9
> FROM
> `automotive_dim` AS `automotive_dim`,
> GROUP BY
> `automotive_dim`.`make_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`model_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`plant_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`vehicle_id`,
> `automotive_dim`.`license_id`,
> ORDER BY
> `...
> `

Please note that significant changes are anticipated to the schema syntax in Mondrian 4.0, including a new approach to declaring functional dependencies. While the expectation is that the 4.0 schema processor will maintain backward compatibility with schemas developed for Mondrian 3.1, these are transitional attributes introduced to allow support in the interim, and 4.0 will not be backward compatible with them. Therefore, any schema using these attributes will need to be migrated to the new syntax as part of upgrading to Mondrian 4.0.

# 3.3.12 Table Hints

Mondrian supports a limited set of database-specific hints for the <Table> element, which will then be passed on to SQL queries involving the table. These hints are as follows:

Database | Hint Type | Permitted Values | Description
MySQL | `force_index` | The name of an index on this table | Forces the named index to be used when selecting level values from this table.

For example:

> `
> <Table name="automotive_dim">
> <Hint type="force_index">my_index</Hint>
> </Table>
> `

As with the functional dependency optimizations, support for table hints is in a transitional stage, and are likely to change in Mondrian 4.0. Any schema using them may need to be migrated to the new schema syntax as part of upgrading to Mondrian 4.0.

### 4. Star and snowflake schemas

We saw earlier how to build a cube based upon a fact table, and dimensions in the fact table ("Payment method") and in a table joined to the fact table ("Gender"). This is the most common kind of mapping, and is known as a star schema.

But a dimension can be based upon more than one table, provided that there is a well-defined path to join these tables to the fact table. This kind of dimension is known as a snowflake, and is defined using the `<Join>` operator. For example:

> `
> <Cube name="Sales">
> ...
> <Dimension name="Product" foreignKey="product_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" primaryKey="product_id" primaryKeyTable="product">
> <Join leftKey="product_class_key" rightAlias="product_class" rightKey="product_class_id">
> <Table name="product"/>
> <Join leftKey="product_type_id" rightKey="product_type_id">
> <Table name="product_class"/>
> <Table name="product_type"/>
> </Join>
> </Join>
> <!-- Level declarations ... -->
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> </Cube>
> `

This defines a `"Product"` dimension consisting of three tables. The fact table joins to `"product"` (via the foreign key `"product_id"`), which joins to `"product_class"` (via the foreign key `"product_class_id"`), which joins to `" product_type"` (via the foreign key `"product_type_id"`). We require a `<Join>` element nested within a `<Join>` element because `<Join>` takes two operands; the operands can be tables, joins, or even queries.

The arrangement of the tables seems complex; the simple rule of thumb is to order the tables by the number of rows they contain. The `"product"` table has the most rows, so it joins to the fact table and appears first; `"product_class"` has fewer rows, and `"product_type"`, at the tip of the snowflake, has least of all.

Note that the outer `<Join>` element has a `rightAlias` attribute. This is necessary because the right component of the join (the inner `<Join>` element) consists of more than one table. No `leftAlias` attribute is necessary in this case, because the leftKey column unambiguously comes from the `"product"` table.

# 4.1 Shared dimensions

When generating the SQL for a join, Mondrian needs to know which column to join to. If you are joining to a join, then you need to tell it which of the tables in the join that column belongs to (usually it will be the first table in the join).

Because shared dimensions don't belong to a cube, you have to give them an explicit table (or other data source). When you use them in a particular cube, you specify the foreign key. This example shows the `Store Type` dimension being joined to the `Sales` cube using the `sales_fact_1997.store_id` foreign key, and to the `Warehouse` cube using the `warehouse.warehouse_store_id` foreign key:

> `
> <Dimension name="Store Type">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" primaryKey="store_id">
> <Table name="store"/>
> <Level name="Store Type" column="store_type" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> <Cube name="Sales">
> <Table name="sales_fact_1997"/>
> ...
> <DimensionUsage name="Store Type" source="Store Type" foreignKey="store_id"/>
> </Cube>
> <Cube name="Warehouse">
> <Table name="warehouse"/>
> ...
> <DimensionUsage name="Store Type" source="Store Type" foreignKey="warehouse_store_id"/>
> </Cube>
> `

# 4.2 Join optimization

The table mapping in the schema tells Mondrian how to get the data, but Mondrian is smart enough not to read the schema literally. It applies a number of optimizations when generating queries:

- TODO: describe large dimension support
- If a dimension (or, more precisely, the level of the dimension being accessed) is in the fact table, Mondrian does not perform a join.
- If two dimensions access the same table via the same join path, Mondrian only joins them once. For example, `[Gender]` and `[Age]` might both be columns in the `customers` table, joined via `sales_1997.cust_id = customers.cust_id`.

### 5. Advanced logical constructs

# 5.1 Virtual cubes

A virtual cube combines two or more regular cubes. It is defined by the `<VirtualCube>` element:

> `
> <VirtualCube name="Warehouse and Sales">
> <CubeUsages>
> <CubeUsage cubeName="Sales" ignoreUnrelatedDimensions="true"/>
> <CubeUsage cubeName="Warehouse"/>
> </CubeUsages>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Sales" name="Customers"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Sales" name="Education Level"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Sales" name="Gender"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Sales" name="Marital Status"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension name="Product"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Sales" name="Promotion Media"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Sales" name="Promotions"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension name="Store"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension name="Time"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Sales" name="Yearly Income"/>
> <VirtualCubeDimension cubeName="Warehouse" name="Warehouse"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Sales" name="[Measures].[Sales Count]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Sales" name="[Measures].[Store Cost]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Sales" name="[Measures].[Store Sales]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Sales" name="[Measures].[Unit Sales]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Sales" name="[Measures].[Profit Growth]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Store Invoice]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Supply Time]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Units Ordered]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Units Shipped]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Warehouse Cost]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Warehouse Profit]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Warehouse Sales]"/>
> <VirtualCubeMeasure cubeName="Warehouse" name="[Measures].[Average Warehouse Sale]"/>
> <CalculatedMember name="Profit Per Unit Shipped" dimension="Measures">
> <Formula>[Measures].[Profit] / [Measures].[Units Shipped]</Formula>
> </CalculatedMember>
> </VirtualCube>
> `

The `<CubeUsages>` element is optional. It specifies the cubes that are imported into the virtual cube. Holds CubeUsage elements.

The `<CubeUsage>` element is optional. It specifies the base cube that is imported into the virtual cube. Currently it is possible to define a VirtualCubeMeasure and similar imports from a base cube without defining CubeUsage for the cube. The `cubeName` attribute specifies the base cube being imported. The `ignoreUnrelatedDimensions` attribute specifies that the measures from this base cube will have non joining dimension members pushed to the top level member. This behaviour is currently supported for aggregation. This attribute is by default false. `ignoreUnrelatedDimensions` is an experimental feature similar to the similarly named feature in SSAS 2005. MSDN documentation mentions "When IgnoreUnrelatedDimensions is true, unrelated dimensions are forced to their top level; when the value is false, dimensions are not forced to their top level. This property is similar to the Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) ValidMeasure function". Current Mondrian implementation of `ignoreUnrelatedDimensions` depends on use of ValidMeasure. E.g. If we want to apply this behaviour to "Unit Sales" measure in the "Warehouse and Sales" virtual cube then we need to define a CubeUsage entry for "Sales" cube as shown in the example above and also wrap this measure with ValidMeasure.

The `<VirtualCubeDimension>` element imports a dimension from one of the constituent cubes. If you do not specify the `cubeName` attribute, this means you are importing a shared dimension. (If a shared dimension is used more than once in a cube, there is no way, at present, to disambiguate which usage of the shared dimension you intend to import.)

The `<VirtualCubeMeasure>` element imports a measure from one of the constituent cubes. It is imported with the same name. If you want to create a formula, or just to rename a measure as you import it, use the `<CalculatedMember>` element.

Virtual cubes occur surprisingly frequently in real-world applications. They occur when you have fact tables of different granularities (say one measured at the day level, another at the month level), or fact tables of different dimensionalities (say one on Product, Time and Customer, another on Product, Time and Warehouse), and want to present the results to an end-user who doesn't know or care how the data is structured.

Any common dimensions -- shared dimensions which are used by both constituent cubes -- are automatically synchronized. In this example, `[Time]` and `[Product]` are common dimensions. So if the context is (`[Time].[1997].[Q2]`, `[Product].[Beer].[Miller Lite]`), measures from either cube will relate to this context.

Dimensions which only belong to one cube are called non-conforming dimensions. The `[Gender]` dimension is an example of this: it exists in the `Sales` cube but not `Warehouse`. If the context is (`[Gender].[F]`, `[Time].[1997].[Q1]`), it makes sense to ask the value of the `[Unit Sales]` measure (which comes from the `[Sales]` cube) but not the `[Units Ordered]` measure (from `[Warehouse]`). In the context of `[Gender].[F]`, `[Units Ordered]` has value NULL.

# 5.2 Parent-child hierarchies

A conventional hierarchy has a rigid set of levels, and members which adhere to those levels. For example, in the `Product` hierarchy, any member of the `Product Name` level has a parent in the `Brand Name` level, which has a parent in the `Product Subcategory` level, and so forth. This structure is sometimes too rigid to model real-world data.

A parent-child hierarchy has only one level (not counting the special 'all' level), but any member can have parents in the same level. A classic example is the reporting structure in the `Employees` hierarchy:

> `
> <Dimension name="Employees" foreignKey="employee_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" allMemberName="All Employees" primaryKey="employee_id">
> <Table name="employee"/>
> <Level name="Employee Id" uniqueMembers="true" type="Numeric" column="employee_id" nameColumn="full_name" parentColumn="supervisor_id" nullParentValue="0">
> <Property name="Marital Status" column="marital_status"/>
> <Property name="Position Title" column="position_title"/>
> <Property name="Gender" column="gender"/>
> <Property name="Salary" column="salary"/>
> <Property name="Education Level" column="education_level"/>
> <Property name="Management Role" column="management_role"/>
> </Level>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

The important attributes here are `parentColumn` and `nullParentValue`:

- The `parentColumn` attribute is the name of the column which links a member to its parent member; in this case, it is the foreign key column which points to an employee's supervisor. The `<ParentExpression>` child element of `<Level>` is equivalent to the `parentColumn` attribute, but allows you to define an arbitrary SQL expression, just like the `<Expression>` element. The `parentColumn` attribute (or `<ParentExpression>` element) is the only indication to Mondrian that a hierarchy has a parent-child structure.
- The `nullParentValue` attribute is the value which indicates that a member has no parent. The default is `nullParentValue="null"`, but since many database don't index null values, schema designers sometimes use values as the empty string, 0, and -1 instead.

# 5.2.1 Tuning parent-child hierarchies

There's one serious problem with the parent-child hierarchy defined above, and that is the amount of work Mondrian has to do in order to compute cell-totals. Let's suppose that the employee table contains the following data:

employee
supervisor_id | employee_id | full_name
null | 1 | Frank
1 | 2 | Bill
2 | 3 | Eric
1 | 4 | Jane
3 | 5 | Mark
2 | 6 | Carla

If we want to compute the total salary budget for Bill, we need to add in the salaries of Eric and Carla (who report to Bill) and Mark (who reports to Eric). Usually Mondrian generates a SQL `GROUP BY` statement to compute these totals, but there is no (generally available) SQL construct which can traverse hierarchies. So by default, Mondrian generates one SQL statement per supervisor, to retrieve and total all of that supervisor's direct reports.

This approach has a couple of drawbacks. First, the performance is not very good if a hierarchy contains more than a hundred members. Second, because Mondrian implements the distinct-count aggregator by generating SQL, you cannot define a distinct-count measure in any cube which contains a parent-child hierarchy.

How can we solve these problems? The answer is to enhance the data so that Mondrian is able to retrieve the information it needs using standard SQL. Mondrian supports a mechanism called a closure table for this purpose.

# 5.2.2 Closure tables

A closure table is a SQL table which contains a record for every employee/supervisor relationship, regardless of depth. (In mathematical terms, this is called the 'reflexive transitive closure' of the employee/supervisor relationship. The `distance` column is not strictly required, but it makes it easier to populate the table.)

employee_closure
supervisor_id | employee_id | distance
1 | 1 | 0
1 | 2 | 1
1 | 3 | 2
1 | 4 | 1
1 | 5 | 3
1 | 6 | 2
2 | 2 | 0
2 | 3 | 1
2 | 5 | 2
2 | 6 | 1
3 | 3 | 0
3 | 5 | 1
4 | 4 | 0
5 | 5 | 0
6 | 6 | 0

In the catalog XML, the `<Closure>` element maps the level onto a `<Table>`:

> `
> <Dimension name="Employees" foreignKey="employee_id">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" allMemberName="All Employees" primaryKey="employee_id">
> <Table name="employee"/>
> <Level name="Employee Id" uniqueMembers="true" type="Numeric"
> column="employee_id" nameColumn="full_name" parentColumn="supervisor_id" nullParentValue="0">
> <Closure parentColumn="supervisor_id" childColumn="employee_id">
> <Table name="employee_closure"/>
> </Closure>
> <Property name="Marital Status" column="marital_status"/>
> <Property name="Position Title" column="position_title"/>
> <Property name="Gender" column="gender"/>
> <Property name="Salary" column="salary"/>
> <Property name="Education Level" column="education_level"/>
> <Property name="Management Role" column="management_role"/>
> </Level>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

This table allows totals to be evaluated in pure SQL. Even though this introduces an extra table into the query, database optimizers are very good at handling joins. I recommend that you declare both `supervisor_id` and `employee_id` NOT NULL, and index them as follows:

> `CREATE UNIQUE INDEX employee_closure_pk ON employee_closure (
> supervisor_id,
> employee_id);
> CREATE INDEX employee_closure_emp ON employee_closure (
> employee_id);`

# 5.2.3 Populating closure tables

The table needs to be re-populated whenever the hierarchy changes, and it is the application's responsibility to do so — Mondrian does not do this!

If you are using Pentaho Data Integration (Kettle), there is a special step to populate closure tables as part of the ETL process. Further details in the Pentaho Data Integration wiki.

Closure Generator step in Pentaho Data Integration

If you are not using Pentaho Data Integration, you can populate the table yourself using SQL. Here is an example of a MySQL stored procedure that populates a closure table.

> `DELIMITER //
> CREATE PROCEDURE populate_employee_closure()
> BEGIN
> DECLARE distance int;
> TRUNCATE TABLE employee_closure;
> SET distance = 0;
> -- seed closure with self-pairs (distance 0)
> INSERT INTO employee_closure (supervisor_id, employee_id, distance)
> SELECT employee_id, employee_id, distance
> FROM employee;
> -- for each pair (root, leaf) in the closure,
> -- add (root, leaf->child) from the base table
> REPEAT
> SET distance = distance + 1;
> INSERT INTO employee_closure (supervisor_id, employee_id, distance)
> SELECT employee_closure.supervisor_id, employee.employee_id, distance
> FROM employee_closure, employee
> WHERE employee_closure.employee_id = employee.supervisor_id
> AND employee_closure.distance = distance - 1;
> UNTIL (ROW_COUNT() == 0))
> END REPEAT;
> END //
> DELIMITER ;`

# 5.3 Member properties

Member properties are defined by the `<Property>` element within a `<Level>`, like this:

> `
> <Level name="MyLevel" column="LevelColumn" uniqueMembers="true">
> <Property name="MyProp" column="PropColumn" formatter="com.example.MyPropertyFormatter"/>
> <Level/>
> `

The `formatter` attribute defines a property formatter , which is explained later.

Once properties have been defined in the schema, you can use them in MDX statements via the `member.Properties("propertyName")` function, for example:

> `SELECT {[Store Sales]} ON COLUMNS,
> TopCount(Filter([Store].[Store Name].Members,
> [Store].CurrentMember.Properties("Store Type") = "Supermarket"),
> 10,
> [Store Sales]) ON ROWS
> FROM [Sales]`

Mondrian deduces the type of the property expression, if it can. If the property name is a constant string, the type is based upon the `type` attribute ("String", "Numeric" or "Boolean") of the property definition. If the property name is an expression (for example `CurrentMember.Properties("Store " + "Type")`), Mondrian will return an untyped value.

# 5.4 Calculated members

Suppose you want to create a measure whose value comes not from a column of the fact table, but from an MDX formula. One way to do this is to use a `WITH MEMBER` clause, like this:

> `WITH MEMBER [Measures].[Profit] AS '[Measures].[Store Sales]-[Measures].[Store Cost]',
> FORMAT_STRING = '$#,###'
> SELECT {[Measures].[Store Sales], [Measures].[Profit]} ON COLUMNS,
> {[Product].Children} ON ROWS
> FROM [Sales]
> WHERE [Time].[1997]`

But rather than including this clause in every MDX query of your application, you can define the member in your schema, as part of your cube definition:

> `
> <CalculatedMember name="Profit" dimension="Measures">
> <Formula>[Measures].[Store Sales] - [Measures].[Store Cost]</Formula>
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="FORMAT_STRING" value="$#,##0.00"/>
> </CalculatedMember>
> `

You can also declare the formula as an XML attribute, if you prefer. The effect is just the same.

> `
> <CalculatedMember name="Profit" dimension="Measures" formula="[Measures].[Store Sales]-[Measures].[Store Cost]">
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="FORMAT_STRING" value="$#,##0.00"/>
> </CalculatedMember>
> `

Note that the `<CalculatedMemberProperty>` (not `<Property>`) element corresponds to the `FORMAT_STRING = '$#,###'` fragment of the MDX statement. You can define other properties here too, but `FORMAT_STRING` is by far the most useful in practice.

The `FORMAT_STRING` property value can also be evaluated using an expression. When formatting a particular cell, first the expression is evaluated to yield a format string, then the format string is applied to the cell value. Here is the same property with a conditional format string:

> `
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="FORMAT_STRING" expression="Iif(Value < 0, '|($#,##0.00)|style=red', '|$#,##0.00|style=green')"/>
> `

For more details about format strings, see the MDX specification.

One additional calculated member property that is worth mentioning is DATATYPE. As with measures, setting datatype specifies how the calculated member is returned via XML for Analysis. The DATATYPE property of a calculated member can have values "`String`", "`Integer`", or "`Numeric`":

> `
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="DATATYPE" value="Numeric"/>
> `

You can specify SOLVE_ORDER for the calculated member property. Solve order determines the priority of calculation in the event of competing expressions

> `
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="SOLVE_ORDER" value="2000"/>
> `

You can make a calculated member or a measure invisible. If you specify `visible="false"` (the default is "true") in the `<Measure>` or `<CalculatedMember>` element, user-interfaces such as JPivot will notice this property and hide the member. This is useful if you want to perform calculations in a number of steps, and hide intermediate steps from end-users. For example, here only "Margin per Sqft" is visible, and its factors "Store Cost", "Margin" and "Store Sqft" are hidden:

> `
> <Measure name="Store Cost" column="store_cost" aggregator="sum" formatString="#,###.00" visible="false"/>
> <CalculatedMember name="Margin" dimension="Measures" visible="false">
> <Formula>([Measures].[Store Sales] - [Measures].[Store Cost]) / [Measures].[Store Cost]</Formula>
> </CalculatedMember>
> <CalculatedMember name="Store Sqft" dimension="Measures" visible="false">
> <Formula>IIF([Store].CurrentMember.Level.Name = "Store Name", [Store].Properties("Store Sqft"), NULL)</Formula>
> </CalculatedMember>
> <CalculatedMember name="Margin per Sqft" dimension="Measures" visible="true">
> <Formula>[Measures].[Margin] / [Measures].[Store Cost]</Formula>
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="FORMAT_STRING" value="$#,##0.00"/>
> </CalculatedMember>
> `

# 5.5 Named sets

The `WITH SET` clause of an MDX statement allows you to declare a set expression which can be used throughout that query. For example,

> `WITH SET [Top Sellers] AS
> 'TopCount([Warehouse].[Warehouse Name].MEMBERS, 5, [Measures].[Warehouse Sales])'
> SELECT
> {[Measures].[Warehouse Sales]} ON COLUMNS,
> {[Top Sellers]} ON ROWS
> FROM [Warehouse]
> WHERE [Time].[Year].[1997]`

The `WITH SET` clause is very similar to the `WITH MEMBER` clause, and as you might expect, it has a construct in schema analogous to `<CalculatedMember>`. The `<NamedSet>` element allows you to define a named set in your schema as part of a cube definition. It is implicitly available for any query against that cube:

> `
> <Cube name="Warehouse">
> ...
> <NamedSet name="Top Sellers">
> <Formula>TopCount([Warehouse].[Warehouse Name].MEMBERS, 5, [Measures].[Warehouse Sales])</Formula>
> </NamedSet>
> </Cube>
> SELECT
> {[Measures].[Warehouse Sales]} ON COLUMNS,
> {[Top Sellers]} ON ROWS
> FROM [Warehouse]
> WHERE [Time].[Year].[1997]`

Warehouse | Warehouse Sales
Treehouse Distribution | 31,116.37
Jorge Garcia, Inc. | 30,743.77
Artesia Warehousing, Inc. | 29,207.96
Jorgensen Service Storage | 22,869.79
Destination, Inc. | 22,187.42

A named set defined against a cube is not inherited by a virtual cube defined against that cube. (But you can define a named set against a virtual cube.)

You can also define a named set as global to a schema:

> `
> <Schema>
> <Cube name="Sales" ... />
> <Cube name="Warehouse" ... />
> <VirtualCube name="Warehouse and Sales" .../>
> <NamedSet name="CA Cities" formula="{[Store].[USA].[CA].Children}"/>
> <NamedSet name="Top CA Cities">
> <Formula>TopCount([CA Cities], 2, [Measures].[Unit Sales])</Formula>
> </NamedSet>
> </Schema>
> `

A named set defined against a schema is available in all cubes and virtual cubes in that schema. However, it is only valid if the cube contains dimensions with the names required to make the formula valid. For example, it would be valid to use `[CA Cities]` in queries against the `[Sales]` and `[Warehouse and Sales]` cubes, but if you used it in a query against the `[Warehouse]` cube you would get an error, because `[Warehouse]` does not have a `[Store]` dimension.

### 6. Plug-ins

Sometimes Mondrian's schema language isn't flexible enough, or the MDX language isn't powerful enough, to solve the problem at hand. What you want to do is add a little of your own Java code into the Mondrian application, and a plug-in is a way to do this.

Each of Mondrian's extensions is technically a Service Provider Interface (SPI); in short, a Java interface which you write code to implement, and which Mondrian will call at runtime. You also need to register an extension (usually somewhere in your schema.xml file) and to ensure that it appears on the classpath.

Plug-ins include user-defined functions; cell, member and property formatters; dynamic schema processors and data source change listeners. There is incomplete support for member readers and cell readers, and in future we may support pluggable SQL dialects.

Some plug-ins (user-defined function, member formatter, property formatter, cell formatter) can be implemented in a scripting language such as JavaScript. In this case, you do not need to write a Java class; you just enclose the script code within a Script element in the mondrian schema file. Extensions implemented in scripting languages do not in general perform as well as extensions implemented in Java, but they are much more convenient because you do not need to compile any code. Just modify the script code in the mondrian schema file and re-load the schema. The shorter code-debug-fix cycle allows you to develop your application much faster. Once you have implemented the plug-in in script, if performance is still a concern, you can translate your plug-in into Java.

Other extensions include Dynamic datasource xmla servlet.

# 6.1 User-defined function

A user-defined function must have a public constructor and implement the mondrian.spi.UserDefinedFunction interface. For example,

> `package com.example;
> import mondrian.olap.*;
> import mondrian.olap.type.*;
> import mondrian.spi.UserDefinedFunction;
> /**
> * A simple user-defined function which adds one to its argument.
> */
> public class PlusOneUdf implements UserDefinedFunction {
> // public constructor
> public PlusOneUdf() {
> }
> public String getName() {
> return "PlusOne";
> }
> public String getDescription() {
> return "Returns its argument plus one";
> }
> public Syntax getSyntax() {
> return Syntax.Function;
> }
> public Type getReturnType(Type[] parameterTypes) {
> return new NumericType();
> }
> public Type[] getParameterTypes() {
> return new Type[] {new NumericType()};
> }
> public Object execute(Evaluator evaluator, Exp[] arguments) {
> final Object argValue = arguments[0].evaluateScalar(evaluator);
> if (argValue instanceof Number) {
> return new Double(((Number) argValue).doubleValue() + 1);
> } else {
> // Argument might be a RuntimeException indicating that
> // the cache does not yet have the required cell value. The
> // function will be called again when the cache is loaded.
> return null;
> }
> }
> public String[] getReservedWords() {
> return null;
> }
> }`

Declare it in your schema:

> `
> <Schema>
> ...
> <UserDefinedFunction name="PlusOne" className="com.example.PlusOneUdf"/>
> </Schema>
> `

And use it in any MDX statement:

> `WITH MEMBER [Measures].[Unit Sales Plus One]
> AS 'PlusOne([Measures].[Unit Sales])'
> SELECT
> {[Measures].[Unit Sales]} ON COLUMNS,
> {[Gender].MEMBERS} ON ROWS
> FROM [Sales]`

If a user-defined function has a public constructor with one string argument, Mondrian will pass in the function's name. Why? This allows you to define two or more user-defined functions using the same class:

> `package com.example;
> import mondrian.olap.*;
> import mondrian.olap.type.*;
> import mondrian.spi.UserDefinedFunction;
> /**
> * A user-defined function which either adds one to or
> * subtracts one from its argument.
> */
> public class PlusOrMinusOneUdf implements UserDefinedFunction {
> private final name;
> private final isPlus;
> // public constructor with one argument
> public PlusOneUdf(String name) {
> this.name = name;
> if (name.equals("PlusOne")) {
> isPlus = true;
> } else if (name.equals("MinusOne")) {
> isPlus = false;
> } else {
> throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unexpected name " + name);
> }
> }
> public String getName() {
> return name;
> }
> public String getDescription() {
> return "Returns its argument plus or minus one";
> }
> public Syntax getSyntax() {
> return Syntax.Function;
> }
> public Type getReturnType(Type[] parameterTypes) {
> return new NumericType();
> }
> public Type[] getParameterTypes() {
> return new Type[] {new NumericType()};
> }
> public Object execute(Evaluator evaluator, Exp[] arguments) {
> final Object argValue = arguments[0].evaluateScalar(evaluator);
> if (argValue instanceof Number) {
> if (isPlus) {
> return new Double(((Number) argValue).doubleValue() + 1);
> } else {
> return new Double(((Number) argValue).doubleValue() - 1);
> }
> } else {
> // Argument might be a RuntimeException indicating that
> // the cache does not yet have the required cell value. The
> // function will be called again when the cache is loaded.
> return null;
> }
> }
> public String[] getReservedWords() {
> return null;
> }
> }`

and register two the functions in your schema:

> `
> <Schema>
> ...
> <UserDefinedFunction name="PlusOne" className="com.example.PlusOrMinusOneUdf">
> <UserDefinedFunction name="MinusOne" className="com.example.PlusOrMinusOneUdf">
> </Schema>
> `

If you're tired of writing duplicate user-defined function declarations in schema files, you can pack your user-defined function implemention classes into a jar file with a embedded `META-INF/services/mondrian.spi.UserDefinedFunction` resource file. This resource file contains class names of implementations of interface mondrian.spi.UserDefinedFunction, one name per line. For more details, you may look into `src/main/META-INF/services/mondrian.spi.UserDefinedFunction` in the source distribution and the Service Provider section of the specification of JAR files. User-defined functions declared by this means are available to all mondrian schemas in the JVM.

Caution: you can't define more than one user-defined function implementations in one class when you declare user-defined functions in this way. One function will be loaded for each class, and given the name that the `getName()` method returns.

User-defined functions can also be implemented in a scripting language, such as JavaScript. These functions may not perform quite as well as Java UDFs or built-in functions, but they are a lot more convenient to implement.

To define a UDF in script, use the Script element and include within it the followimg functions:

- `getName()`
- `getDescription()`
- `getSyntax()`
- `getParameterTypes()`
- `getReturnType(parameterTypes)`
- `execute(evaluator, arguments)`

The getName(), getDescription(), getReservedWords() and getSyntax() methods are optional; getName() defaults to the name attribute in the UserDefinedFunction element, getDescription() defaults to the name, getReservedWords() returns the empty list, and getSyntax() defaults to mondrian.olap.Syntax.Function. The other methods have similar meanings to the ones in the UserDefinedFunction SPI.

Here is an example of the factorial function as a JavaScript UDF:

> `
> <UserDefinedFunction name="Factorial">
> <Script language="JavaScript">
> function getParameterTypes() {
> return new Array(new mondrian.olap.type.NumericType());
> }
> function getReturnType(parameterTypes) {
> return new mondrian.olap.type.NumericType();
> }
> function execute(evaluator, arguments) {
> var n = arguments[0].evaluateScalar(evaluator);
> return factorial(n);
> }
> function factorial(n) {
> return n <= 1 ? 1 : n * factorial(n - 1);
> }
> </Script>
> </UserDefinedFunction>
> `

# 6.2 Member reader

A member reader is a means of accessing members. Hierarchies are usually based upon a dimension table (an 'arm' of a star schema), and are therefore populated using SQL. But even if your data doesn't reside in an RDBMS, you can make it appear as a hierarchy by writing a Java class called a custom member reader.

Here are a couple of examples:

1. `DateSource` (to be written) generates a time hierarchy. Conventionally, data warehouse implementors generate a table containing a row for every date their system is ever likely to deal with. But the problem is that this table needs to be loaded, and as time goes by, they will have to remember to add more rows. DateSource generates date members in memory, and on demand.
2. `FileSystemSource` (to be written) presents the file system as a hierarchy of directories and files. Since a directory can have a parent which is itself a directory, it is a parent-child hierarchy. Like the time hierarchy created by DateSource, this is a virtual hierarchy: the member for a particular file is only created when, and if, that file's parent directory is expanded.
3. `ExpressionMemberReader` (to be written) creates a hierarchy based upon an expression.

A custom member reader must implement the mondrian.rolap.MemberSource interface. If you need to implement a larger set of member operations for fine-grained control, implement the derived mondrian.rolap.MemberReader interface; otherwise, Mondrian wrap your reader in a mondrian.rolap.CacheMemberReader object. Your member reader must have a public constructor which takes `( RolapHierarchy, Properties)` parameters, and throws no checked exceptions.

Member readers are declared using the `<Hierarchy>` element's `memberReaderClass` attribute; any `<Parameter>` child elements are passed via the `properties` constructor parameter. Here is an example:

> `
> <Dimension name="Has bought dairy">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" memberReaderClass="mondrian.rolap.HasBoughtDairySource">
> <Level name="Has bought dairy" uniqueMembers="true"/>
> <Parameter name="expression" value="not used"/>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> `

# 6.3 Cell reader

Not implemented yet. Syntax would be something like

> `
> <Measure name="name" cellReaderClass="com.example.MyCellReader"/>
> `

and the class "com.example.MyCellReader" would have to implement the `mondrian.olap.CellReader` interface.

# 6.4 Cell formatter

A cell formatter modifies the behavior of `Cell.getFormattedValue()`. The class must implement the `mondrian.spi.CellFormatter` interface, and is specified like this:

> `
> <Measure name="name">
> <CellFormatter className="com.example.MyCellFormatter"/>
> </Measure>
> `

(The previous syntax, using the 'formatter' attribute of the Measure element, is deprecated, and will be removed in mondrian-4.0.)

You can specify a formatter in a scripting language such as JavaScript, using the Script element:

> `
> <Measure name="name">
> <CellFormatter>
> <Script language="JavaScript">
> </Script>
> </CellFormatter>
> </Measure>
> `

The script has available a `value` variable, corresponding to the parameter of the mondrian.spi.CellFormatter.formatCell(Object value) method. The code fragment can have multiple statements, but must end in a `return` statement.

For a calculated member that belongs to a cube or virtual cube, you can also use the CellFormatter element:

> `
> <CalculatedMember name="name" dimension="dimension">
> <Formula>
> [Measures].[Unit Sales] * 2
> </Formula>
> <CellFormatter>
> <Script language="JavaScript">
> var s = value.toString();
> while (s.length() < 20) {
> s = "0" + s;
> }
> return s;
> </Script>
> </CellFormatter>
> </Measure>
> `

You can also define a formatter by setting the `CELL_FORMATTER` property of the member to the name of the formatter class.

> `
> <CalculatedMember name="name" formatter="com.example.MyCellFormatter">
> <CalculatedMemberProperty name="CELL_FORMATTER" value="com.example.MyCellFormatter"/>
> </CalculatedMember>
> `

For a calculated measure defined in the `WITH MEMBER` clause of an MDX query, you can set the same property in the MDX to achieve the same effect:

> `WITH MEMBER [Measures].[Foo]
> AS '[Measures].[Unit Sales] * 2',
> CELL_FORMATTER='com.example.MyCellFormatter'
> SELECT {[Measures].[Unit Sales], [Measures].[Foo]} ON COLUMNS,
> {[Store].Children} ON ROWS
> FROM [Sales]`

To define a scripted formatter, use the `CELL_FORMATTER_SCRIPT` and `CELL_FORMATTER_SCRIPT_LANGUAGE` properties:

> `WITH MEMBER [Measures].[Foo]
> AS '[Measures].[Unit Sales] * 2',
> CELL_FORMATTER_SCRIPT_LANGUAGE='JavaScript',
> CELL_FORMATTER_SCRIPT='var s = value.toString(); while (s.length() < 20) s = "0" + s; return s;'
> SELECT {[Measures].[Unit Sales], [Measures].[Foo]} ON COLUMNS,
> {[Store].Children} ON ROWS
> FROM [Sales]`

The cell formatter property is ignored if a member does not belong to the `[Measures]` dimension.

# 6.5 Member formatter

A member formatter modifies the behavior of `Member.getCaption()`. The class must implement the `mondrian.spi.MemberFormatter` interface, and is specified like this:

> `
> <Level name="name" column="column">
> <MemberFormatter className="com.example.MyMemberFormatter"/>
> </Level>
> `

(The previous syntax, using the 'formatter' attribute of the Level element, is deprecated, and will be removed in mondrian-4.0.)

You can specify a formatter in a scripting language such as JavaScript, using the Script element:

> `
> <Level name="name" column="column">
> <MemberFormatter>
> <Script language="JavaScript">
> return member.getName().toUpperCase();
> </Script>
> </MemberFormatter>
> </Level>
> `

The script has available a `member` variable, corresponding to the parameter of the mondrian.spi.MemberFormatter.formatMember(Member member) method. The code fragment can have multiple statements, but must end in a `return` statement.

# 6.6 Property formatter

A property formatter modifies the behavior of `Property.getPropertyFormattedValue()`. The class must implement the `mondrian.spi.PropertyFormatter` interface, and is specified like this:

> `
> <Level name="MyLevel" column="LevelColumn" uniqueMembers="true">
> <Property name="MyProp" column="PropColumn">
> <PropertyFormatter className="com.example.MyPropertyFormatter"/>
> </Property
> <Level/>
> `

(The previous syntax, using the 'formatter' attribute of the Property element, is deprecated, and will be removed in mondrian-4.0.)

You can specify a formatter in a scripting language such as JavaScript, using the Script element:

> `
> <Level name="name" column="column">
> <Property name="MyProp" column="PropColumn">
> <PropertyFormatter>
> <Script language="JavaScript">
> return member.getName().toUpperCase();
> </Script>
> </PropertyFormatter>
> </Property>
> </Level>
> `

The script has available `member`, `propertyName` and `propertyValue` variables, corresponding to the parameters of the mondrian.spi.PropertyFormatter.formatProperty(Member member, String propertyName, Object propertyValue) method. The code fragment can have multiple statements, but must end in a `return` statement.

# 6.7 Schema processor

A schema processor implements the `mondrian.spi.DynamicSchemaProcessor` interface. It is specified as part of the connection string, like this:

> `Jdbc=jdbc:odbc:MondrianFoodMart; JdbcUser=ziggy; JdbcPassword=stardust; DynamicSchemaProcessor=com.example.MySchemaProcessor`

The effect is that when reading the contents of the schema from a URL, Mondrian turns to the schema processor rather than Java's default URL handler. This gives the schema reader the opportunity to run a schema through a filter, or even generate an entire schema on the fly.

When `DynamicSchemaProcessor` is specified, schema would be processed and reloaded on every ROLAP connection request. Property `UseContentChecksum` should be used along with a schema processor to enable caching of the schema:

> `DataSource=java:/jdbc/MyWarehouse; DynamicSchemaProcessor=com.example.MySchemaProcessor; UseContentChecksum=true`

In this case once loaded schema would be cached until it's change. If schema content has changed, it would be reloaded (and processed).

Dynamic schemas are a very powerful construct. As we shall see, an important application for them is internationalization.

# 6.8 Data source change listener

A data source change listener implements the `mondrian.spi.DataSourceChangeListener` interface. It is specified as part of the connection string, like this:

> `Jdbc=jdbc:odbc:MondrianFoodMart; JdbcUser=ziggy; JdbcPassword=stardust; DataSourceChangeListener=com.example.MyChangeListener;`

Everytime mondrian has to decide whether it will use data from cache, it will call the change listener. When the change listener tells mondrian the datasource has changed for a dimension, cube, ... then mondrian will flush the cache and read from database again.

This class should be called in mondrian before any data is read, so even before cache is build. This way, the plugin is able to register the first timestamp mondrian tries to read the datasource.

Each time a query is started, aggregate cache is checked to see if it has changed. If so, cache will be flushed and aggregates will be reloaded from the data source.

Here is an example of a data source change listener plugin class:

> `package com.example;
> //...
> import javax.sql.DataSource;
> import java.sql.Connection;
> import java.sql.ResultSet;
> import java.sql.SQLException;
> import java.sql.Timestamp;
> //...
> import mondrian.olap.MondrianDef;
> import mondrian.rolap.RolapHierarchy;
> import mondrian.rolap.RolapUtil;
> import mondrian.rolap.agg.Aggregation;
> import mondrian.rolap.RolapStar;
> import mondrian.spi.impl.DataSourceChangeListenerImpl;
> //...
> public class MyChangeListener extends DataSourceChangeListenerImpl {
> public MyChangeListener() {
> }
> public synchronized boolean isHierarchyChanged(RolapHierarchy hierarchy) {
> // Since this function is called many times, it is a good idea to not check the database every time
> // And use some sort of time interval...
> // Get name of the table (does not work if based on view)
> String tableName = getTableName(hierarchy);
> Connection jdbcConnection = null;
> DataSource dataSource =
> hierarchy.getRolapSchema().getInternalConnection().getDataSource();
> try {
> jdbcConnection = dataSource.getConnection();
> if (jdbcConnection != null) {
> // Check database whether hierarchy data source has changed
> // ...
> }
> }
> }
> public synchronized boolean isAggregationChanged(Aggregation aggregation) {
> // The first time, register star and bitKey and remember first time of access...
> RolapStar star = aggregation.getStar();
> BitKey bitKey = aggregation.getConstrainedColumnsBitKey();
> // The first time this function is called, only the bitKey is set,
> // the columns are not filled up yet.
> RolapStar.Column[] columns = aggregation.getColumns();
> if (columns != null) {
> // Check database...
> }
> }
> }
> `

# 6.9 Dynamic datasource xmla servlet

The `DynamicDatasourceXmlaServlet` extends `DefaultXmlaServlet`, adding the ability to dynamically load the `datasources.xml` file. For every client request that it receives, it checks for updates to the content of `datasources.xml`. It selectively clears cache for catalogs that have changed or no longer exist in `datasources.xml`. The servlet considers a catalog as changed when either of its properties (DataSourceInfo, definition properties on DataSourcesConfig.Catalog) are different. It identifies catalog by name.

This servlet complements the dynamic catalog loading capability based on UseContentChecksum. It does not check the catalog content for updates. There is no overlap in the functionality. Both together will give full dynamic datasource and catalog configuration capability.

To use DynamicDatasourceXmlaServlet, change definition of the `MondrianXmlaServlet` servlet in `web.xml`:

> `<servlet>
> <servlet-name>MondrianXmlaServlet</servlet-name>
> <servlet-class>mondrian.xmla.impl.DynamicDatasourceXmlaServlet</servlet-class>
> ...
> </servlet>`

This implementation has a limitation. It requires catalog name to be unique across all datasources and may not work correctly otherwise.

### 7. Internationalization

An internationalized Mondrian application would have a schema for each language, where the caption of each object appears in the local language. For example, the `[Product]` dimension would have the caption "Product" in English and "Produit" in French.

It is unwise to translate the actual names of the schema objects, because then the MDX statements would need to be changed also. All that you need to change is the caption. Every schema object (schema, cube, virtual cube, dimension, hierarchy, level, measure, named set) has a caption attribute, and user interfaces such as JPivot and Pentaho Analyzer display the caption rather than the real name. Additionally:

- Every schema object has a description attribute.
- A hierarchy can have an `allMemberCaption` attribute as display value of the "All" member.
- For the schema we can set a display value of the "measures" dimension by the `measuresCaption` attribute.
- A calculated member has properties CAPTION and DESCRIPTION that appear as caption and description if the member is a measure (that is, a member of the `Measures` dimension).

One way to create an internationalized application is to create a copy of the schema file for each language, but these are difficult to maintain. A better way is to use the LocalizingDynamicSchemaProcessor class to perform dynamic substitution on a single schema file.

# 7.1 Localizing schema processor

First, write your schema using variables as values for `caption`, `description`, `allMemberCaption` and `measuresCaption` attributes as follows:

> `
> <Schema measuresCaption="%{foodmart.measures.caption}">
> <Dimension name="Store" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store.description}">
> <Hierarchy hasAll="true" allMemberName="All Stores" allMemberCaption="%{foodmart.dimension.store.allmember.caption =All Stores}" primaryKey="store_id" caption="%{foodmart.hierarchy.store.country.caption}" description="%{foodmart.hierararchy.store.country.description}>
> <Table name="store"/>
> <Level name="Store Country" column="store_country" uniqueMembers="true" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store.country.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store.country.description}"/>
> <Level name="Store State" column="store_state" uniqueMembers="true" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store.state.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store.state.description}"/>
> <Level name="Store City" column="store_city" uniqueMembers="false" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store.city.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store.city.description}"/>
> <Level name="Store Name" column="store_name" uniqueMembers="true" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store.name.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store.name.description}">
> <Property name="Store Type" column="store_type" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store. name.property_type.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store. name.property_type.description}"/>
> <Property name="Store Manager" column="store_manager" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store. name.property_manager.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store. name.property_manager.description}"/>
> <Property name="Store Sqft" column="store_sqft" type="Numeric" caption="%{foodmart.dimension.store. name.property_storesqft.caption}" description="%{foodmart.dimension.store. name.property_storesqft.description}"/>
> <Property name="Grocery Sqft" column="grocery_sqft" type="Numeric"/>
> <Property name="Frozen Sqft" column="frozen_sqft" type="Numeric"/>
> <Property name="Meat Sqft" column="meat_sqft" type="Numeric"/>
> <Property name="Has coffee bar" column="coffee_bar" type="Boolean"/>
> <Property name="Street address" column="store_street_address" type="String"/>
> </Level>
> </Hierarchy>
> </Dimension>
> <Cube name="Sales" caption="%{foodmart.cube.sales.caption}" description="%{foodmart.cube.sales.description}">
> ...
> <DimensionUsage name="Store" source="Store" foreignKey="store_id" caption="%{foodmart.cube.sales.name.caption}" description="%{foodmart.cube.sales.name.description}"/>
> ...
> <Measure name="Unit Sales" column="unit_sales" caption="%{foodmart.cube.sales.measure.unitsales.caption}" description="%{foodmart.cube.sales.measure.unitsales.description}"/>
> </Cube>
> </Schema>
> `

As usual, the default caption for any cube, measure, dimension or level without a `caption` attribute is the name of the element. A hierarchy's default caption is the caption of its dimension; for example, the `[Store]` hierarchy has no `caption` defined, so it inherits the `caption` attribute from its parent, the `[Store]` dimension.

Next, add the dynamic schema processor and locale to your connect string. For example,

> `Provider=mondrian; Locale=en_US; DynamicSchemaProcessor=mondrian.i18n.LocalizingDynamicSchemaProcessor; Jdbc=jdbc:odbc:MondrianFoodMart; Catalog=/WEB-INF/FoodMart.xml`

Now, for each locale you wish to support, provide a resource file named `locale_{locale}.properties`. For example,

> `# locale.properties: Default resources
> foodmart.measures.caption=Measures
> foodmart.dimension.store.country.caption=Store Country
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_type.column= store_type
> foodmart.dimension.store.country.member.caption= store_country
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_type.caption =Store Type
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.caption =Store Name
> foodmart.dimension.store.state.caption =Store State
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_manager.caption =Store Manager
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_storesqft.caption =Store Sq. Ft.
> foodmart.dimension.store.allmember.caption =All Stores
> foodmart.dimension.store.caption =Store
> foodmart.cube.sales.caption =Sales
> foodmart.dimension.store.city.caption =Store City
> foodmart.cube.sales.measure.unitsales =Unit Sales`

and

> `# locale_hu.properties: Resources for the 'hu' locale.
> foodmart.measures.caption=Hungarian Measures
> foodmart.dimension.store.country.caption=Orsz\u00E1g
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_manager.caption =\u00C1ruh\u00E1z vezet\u0151
> foodmart.dimension.store.country.member.caption =store_country_caption_hu
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_type.caption =Tipusa
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.caption =Megnevez\u00E9s
> foodmart.dimension.store.state.caption =\u00C1llam/Megye
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_type.column =store_type_caption_hu
> foodmart.dimension.store.name.property_storesqft.caption =M\u00E9ret n.l\u00E1b
> foodmart.dimension.store.allmember.caption =Minden \u00C1ruh\u00E1z
> foodmart.dimension.store.caption =\u00C1ruh\u00E1z
> foodmart.cube.sales.caption =Forgalom
> foodmart.dimension.store.city.caption =V\u00E1ros
> foodmart.cube.sales.measure.unitsales =Eladott db`

### 8. Aggregate tables

Aggregate tables are a way to improve Mondrian's performance when the fact table contains a huge number of rows: a million or more. An aggregate table is essentially a pre-computed summary of the data in the fact table.

Let's look at a simple aggregate table.

> `
> <Cube name="Sales">
> <Table name="sales_fact_1997">
> <AggName name="agg_c_special_sales_fact_1997">
> <AggFactCount column="FACT_COUNT"/>
> <AggMeasure name="[Measures].[Store Cost]" column="STORE_COST_SUM"/>
> <AggMeasure name="[Measures].[Store Sales]" column="STORE_SALES_SUM"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Product].[Product Family]" column="PRODUCT_FAMILY"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Quarter]" column="TIME_QUARTER"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Year]" column="TIME_YEAR"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Quarter]" column="TIME_QUARTER"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Month]" column="TIME_MONTH"/>
> </AggName>
> </Table>
> <!-- Rest of the cube definition -->
> </Cube>
> `

The `<AggForeignKey>` element, not shown here, allows you to reference a dimension table directly, without including its columns in the aggregate table. It is described in the aggregate tables guide.

In practice, a cube which is based upon a very large fact table may have several aggregate tables. It is inconvenient to declare each aggregate table explicitly in the schema XML file, and luckily there is a better way. In the following example, Mondrian locates aggregate tables by pattern-matching.

> `
> <Cube name="Sales">
> <Table name="sales_fact_1997">
> <AggPattern pattern="agg_.*_sales_fact_1997">
> <AggFactCount column="FACT_COUNT"/>
> <AggMeasure name="[Measures].[Store Cost]" column="STORE_COST_SUM"/>
> <AggMeasure name="[Measures].[Store Sales]" column="STORE_SALES_SUM"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Product].[Product Family]" column="PRODUCT_FAMILY"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Quarter]" column="TIME_QUARTER"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Year]" column="TIME_YEAR"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Quarter]" column="TIME_QUARTER"/>
> <AggLevel name="[Time].[Month]" column="TIME_MONTH"/>
> <AggExclude name="agg_c_14_sales_fact_1997"/>
> <AggExclude name="agg_lc_100_sales_fact_1997"/>
> </AggPattern>
> </Table>
> </Cube>
> `

It tells Mondrian to treat all tables which match the pattern `"agg_.*_sales_fact_1997"` as aggregate tables, except `"agg_c_14_sales_fact_1997"` and `"agg_lc_100_sales_fact_1997"`. Mondrian uses rules to deduce the roles of the columns in those tables, so it's important to adhere to strict naming conventions. The naming conventions are described in the aggregate tables guide.

The performance guide has advice on choosing aggregate tables.

### 9. Access-control

OK, so now you've got all this great data, but you don't everyone to be able to read all of it. To solve this, you can define an access-control profile, called a Role, as part of the schema, and set this role when establishing a connection.

# 9.1 Defining a role

Roles are defined by `<Role>` elements, which occur as direct children of the `<Schema>` element, after the last `<Cube>`. Here is an example of a role:

> `
> <Role name="California manager">
> <SchemaGrant access="none">
> <CubeGrant cube="Sales" access="all">
> <DimensionGrant hierarchy="[Measures]" access="all"/>
> <HierarchyGrant hierarchy="[Store]" access="custom" topLevel="[Store].[Store Country]">
> <MemberGrant member="[Store].[USA].[CA]" access="all"/>
> <MemberGrant member="[Store].[USA].[CA].[Los Angeles]" access="none"/>
> </HierarchyGrant>
> <HierarchyGrant hierarchy="[Customers]" access="custom" topLevel="[Customers].[State Province]" bottomLevel="[Customers].[City]">
> <MemberGrant member="[Customers].[USA].[CA]" access="all"/>
> <MemberGrant member="[Customers].[USA].[CA].[Los Angeles]" access="none"/>
> </HierarchyGrant>
> <HierarchyGrant hierarchy="[Gender]" access="none"/>
> </CubeGrant>
> </SchemaGrant>
> </Role>
> `

A `<SchemaGrant>` defines the default access for objects in a schema. The `access` attribute can be "all" or "none"; this access can be overridden for specific objects. In this case, because `access="none"`, a user would only be able to browse the "Sales" cube, because it is explicitly granted.

A `<CubeGrant>` defines the access to a particular cube. As for `<SchemaGrant>`, the access attribute can be "all", "custom" or "none", and can be overridden for specific sub-objects in the cube.

A `<DimensionGrant>` defines access to a dimension. The access attribute can be "all", "custrom" or "none". An access level of "all" means that all the child hierarchies of the dimension will get inherited access. An access level of "custom" means that the role does not get an inherent access to the child hierarchies, unless the role is explicitely granted using a <HierarchyGrant> element.

A `<HierarchyGrant>` defines access to a hierarchy. The access attribute can be "all", meaning all members are visible; "none", meaning the hierarchy's very existence is hidden from the user; and "custom". With custom access, you can use the `topLevel` attribute to define the top level which is visible (preventing users from seeing too much of the 'big picture', such as viewing revenues rolled up to the `Store Country` level); or use the `bottomLevel` attribute to define the bottom level which is visible (here, preventing users from invading looking at individual customers' details); or control which sets of members the user can see, by defining nested `<MemberGrant>` elements.

You can only define a `<MemberGrant>` element if its enclosing `<HierarchyGrant>` has `access="custom"`. Member grants give (or remove) access to a given member, and all of its children. Here are the rules:

1. Members inherit access from their parents. If you deny access to California, you won't be able to see San Francisco.
2. Grants are order-dependent. If you grant access to USA, then deny access to Oregon, then you won't be able to see Oregon, or Portland. But if you were to deny access to Oregon, then grant access to USA, you can effectively see everything.
3. A member is visible if any of its children are visible. Suppose you deny access to USA, then grant access to California. You will be able to see USA, and California, but none of the other states. The totals against USA will still reflect all states, however. If the parent HierarchyGrant specifies a top level, only the parents equal or below this level will be visible. Similarly, if a bottom level is specified, only the children above or equal to the level are visible.
4. Member grants don't override the hierarchy grant's top- and bottom-levels. If you set `topLevel="[Store].[Store State]"`, and grant access to California, you won't be able to see USA. Member grants do not override the topLevel and bottomLevel attributes. You can grant or deny access to a member of any level, but the top and bottom constraints have precedence on the explicit member grants.

In the example, the user will have access to California, and all of the cities in California except Los Angeles. They will be able to see USA (because its child, California, is visible), but no other nations, and not All Stores (because it is above the top level, `Store Country`).

# 9.2 Rollup policy

A rollup policy determines how mondrian computes a member's total if the current role cannot see all of that member's children. Under the default rollup policy, called 'full', the total for that member includes contributions from the children that are not visible. For example, suppose that Fred belongs to a role that can see `[USA].[CA]` and `[USA].[OR]` but not `[USA].[WA]`. If Fred runs the query

> `SELECT {[Measures].[Unit Sales]} ON COLUMNS,
> {[[Store].[USA], Store].[USA].Children} ON ROWS
> FROM [Sales]`

the query returns

> `[Customer]` | `[Measures].[Unit Sales]`
> `[USA]` | 266,773
> `[USA].[CA]` | 74,748
> `[USA].[OR]` | 67,659

Note that `[USA].[WA]` is not returned, per the access-control policy, but the total includes the total from Washington (124,366) that Fred cannot see. For some applications, this is not appropriate. In particular, if the dimension has a small number of members, the end-user may be able to deduce the values of the members which they do not have access to.

To remedy this, a role can apply a different rollup policy to a hierarchy. The policy describes how a total is calculated for a particular member if the current role can only see some of that member's children:

- Full. The total for that member includes all children. This is the default policy if you don't specify the `rollupPolicy` attribute.
- Partial. The total for that member includes only accessible children.
- Hidden. If any of the children are inaccessible, the total is hidden.

Under the 'partial' policy, the `[USA]` total is the sum of the accessible children `[CA]` and `[OR]`:

> `[Customer]` | `[Measures].[Unit Sales]`
> `[USA]` | 142,407
> `[USA].[CA]` | 74,748
> `[USA].[OR]` | 67,659

Under 'hidden' policy, the [USA] total is hidden because one of its children is not accessible:

> `[Customer]` | `[Measures].[Unit Sales]`
> `[USA]` | -
> `[USA].[CA]` | 74,748
> `[USA].[OR]` | 67,659

The policy is specified per role and hierarchy. In the following example, the role sees partial totals for the `[Store]` hierarchy but full totals for `[Product]`.

> `
> <Role name="South Pacific manager">
> <SchemaGrant access="none">
> <CubeGrant cube="Sales" access="all">
> <HierarchyGrant hierarchy="[Store]" access="custom" rollupPolicy="partial" topLevel="[Store].[Store Country]">
> <MemberGrant member="[Store].[USA].[CA]" access="all"/>
> <MemberGrant member="[Store].[USA].[CA].[Los Angeles]" access="none"/>
> </HierarchyGrant>
> <HierarchyGrant hierarchy="[Customers]" access="custom" rollupPolicy="full" topLevel="[Customers].[State Province]" bottomLevel="[Customers].[City]">
> <MemberGrant member="[Customers].[USA].[CA]" access="all"/>
> <MemberGrant member="[Customers].[USA].[CA].[Los Angeles]" access="none"/>
> </HierarchyGrant>
> <HierarchyGrant hierarchy="[Gender]" access="none"/>
> </CubeGrant>
> </SchemaGrant>
> </Role>
> `

This example also shows existing features, such as how hierarchy grants can be restricted using `topLevel` and/or `bottomLevel` attributes, and how a role can be prevented from seeing a hierarchy using access="none".

# 9.3 Union roles

A union role combines several roles, and has the sum of their privileges.

A union role can see a particular schema object if one or more of its constituent roles can see it. Similarly, the rollup policy of a union role with respect to a particular hierarchy is the least restrictive of all of the roles' rollup policies.

Here is an example showing the syntax of a union role.

> `
> <Role name="Coastal manager">
> <Union>
> <RoleUsage roleName="California manager"/>
> <RoleUsage roleName="Eastern sales manager"/>
> </Union>
> </Role>
> `

The constituent roles "California manager" and "Eastern sales manager" may be regular roles, user-defined roles or union roles, but they must be declared earlier in the schema file. The "Coastal manager" role will be able to see any member that or a "California manager" and "Eastern sales manager". It will be able to see all the cells at the intersection of these members, plus it will be able to see cells that neither role can see: for example, if only "California manager" can see `[USA].[CA].[Fresno]`, and only "Eastern sales manager" see the `[Sales Target]` measure, then "Coastal manager" will be able to see the sales target for Fresno, which neither of the constituent roles have access to.

# 9.4 Setting a connection's role

A role only has effect when it is associated with a connection. By default, connections have a role which gives them access to every cube in that connection's schema.

Most databases associate roles (or 'groups') with users, and automatically assign them when users log in. However, Mondrian doesn't have the notion of users, so you have to establish the role in a different way. There are two ways of doing this:

1. In the connect string. If you specify the `Role` keyword in the connect string, the connection will adopt that role. You can specify multiple role names separated by commas, and a union role will be created; if a role name contains a comma, escape it with an extra comma. See class DriverManager for examples of connect string syntax.
2. Programmatically. Once your application has established a connection, call the method Connection.setRole(Role). You can create a Role programmatically (see interface Role and the developer's note link for more details), or look one up using the method Schema.lookupRole(String).

### 10. Appendix A: XML elements

Element | Description
`<Schema>` | Collection of Cubes, Virtual cubes, Shared dimensions, and Roles.
Logical elements
`<Cube>` | A collection of dimensions and measures, all centered on a fact table.
`<VirtualCube>` | A cube defined by combining the dimensions and measures of one or more cubes. A measure originating from another cube can be a `<CalculatedMember>`.
`<CubeUsages>` | Base cubes that are imported into a virtual cube
`<CubeUsage>` | Usage of a base cube by a virtual cube.
`<VirtualCubeDimension>` | Usage of a dimension by a virtual cube.
`<VirtualCubeMeasure>` | Usage of a measure by a virtual cube.
`<Dimension>` | Dimension.
`<DimensionUsage>` | Usage of a shared dimension by a cube.
`<Hierarchy>` | Hierarchy.
`<Level>` | Level of a hierarchy.
`<KeyExpression>` | SQL expression used as key of the level, in lieu of a column.
`<NameExpression>` | SQL expression used to compute the name of a member, in lieu of `Level.nameColumn`.
`<CaptionExpression>` | SQL expression used to compute the caption of a member, in lieu of`Level.captionColumn`.
`<OrdinalExpression>` | SQL expression used to sort members of a level, in lieu of `Level.ordinalColumn`.
`<ParentExpression>` | SQL expression used to compute a measure, in lieu of `Level.parentColumn`.
`<Property>` | Member property. The definition is against a hierarchy or level, but the property will be available to all members.
`<PropertyExpression>` | SQL expression used to compute the value of a property, in lieu of `Property.column`.
`<Measure>` | Measure.
`<CalculatedMember>` | A member whose value is derived using a formula, defined as part of a cube.
`<NamedSet>` | A set whose value is derived using a formula, defined as part of a cube.
Physical elements
`<Table>` | Fact or dimension table.
`<View>` | Defines a 'table' using a SQL query, which can have different variants for different underlying databases.
`<Join>` | Defines a 'table' by joining a set of queries.
`<InlineTable>` | Defines a table using an inline dataset.
`<Closure>` | Maps a parent-child hierarchy onto a closure table.
Aggregate Tables
`<AggExclude>` | Exclude a candidate aggregate table by name or pattern matching.
`<AggName>` | Declares an aggregate table to be matched by name.
`<AggPattern>` | Declares a set of aggregate tables by regular expression pattern.
`<AggFactCount>` | Specifies name of the column in the candidate aggregate table which contains the number of fact table rows.
`<AggIgnoreColumn>` | Tells Mondrian to ignore a column in an aggregate table.
`<AggForeignKey>` | Maps foreign key in the fact table to a foreign key column in the candidate aggregate table.
`<AggMeasure>` | Maps a measure to a column in the candidate aggregate table.
`<AggLevel>` | Maps a level to a column in the candidate aggregate table.
Access control
`<Role>` | An access-control profile.
`<SchemaGrant>` | A set of rights to a schema.
`<CubeGrant>` | A set of rights to a cube.
`<HierarchyGrant>` | A set of rights to a hierarchy and levels within that hierarchy.
`<MemberGrant>` | A set of rights to a member and its children.
`<Union>` | Definition of a set of rights as the union of a set of roles.
`<RoleUsage>` | A reference to a Role.
Extensions
`<UserDefinedFunction>` | Declares a user-defined function.
`<CellFormatter>` | Cell formatter.
`<MemberFormatter>` | Member formatter.
`<PropertyFormatter>` | Property formatter.
`<Script>` | Script fragment to implement an SPI such as user-defined function, member formatter, or cell formatter.
Miscellaneous
`<Annotations>` | Holder for annotations.
`<Annotation>` | User-defined property attached to a metadata element.
`<Parameter>` | Part of the definition of a Hierarchy; passed to a MemberReader, if present.
`<CalculatedMemberProperty>` | Property of a calculated member.
`<Formula>` | Holds the formula text within a `<NamedSet>` or `<CalculatedMember>`.
`<ColumnDefs>` | Holder for `<ColumnDef>` elements.
`<ColumnDef>` | Definition of a column in an `<InlineTable>` dataset.
`<Rows>` | Holder for `<Row>` elements.
`<Row>` | Row in an `<InlineTable>` dataset.
`<Value>` | Value of a column in an `<InlineTable>` dataset.
`<MeasureExpression>` | SQL expression used to compute a measure, in lieu of `Measure.column`.
`<SQL>` | The SQL expression for a particular database dialect.

Author: Julian Hyde; last modified May 2011.
Version: $Id$ (log)
Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Julian Hyde.
Copyright (C) 2005-2011 Pentaho and others