Skip to main content

Analysis Services MDX Templates Exploration

While looking in SQL Server Management Studio for something else entirely, I stumbled upon the Template Explorer.  This window provides Analysis Services templates for querying data mining structures (DMX), querying cubes (MDX), and performing DDL (XMLA).  I took a deeper look into the “MDX Queries” templates.

To view the Template Explorer, select the View menu > Template Explorer option.  To see the Analysis Services template, select the Analysis Services cube option at the top of the window.  Double-clicking any of the templates listed will then open a new query window containing the selected query.  For example, the Basic Query will show the following:

Select    <row_axis, mdx_set,> on Columns,
        <column_axis, mdx_set,> on Rows

From    <from_clause, mdx_name,>
Where    <where_clause, mdx_set,>

You have two choices at this point in time: selecting the Query menu > Specify Values for Template Parameters option or replacing the phrases enclosed by angle brackets manually.  The former choice opens a dialog box with all parameters listed to allow you to fill in the correct value; however, you will need to type in the full hierarchical structure by hand.  If you’re anything like me, this is bound to cause a typo and a few frustrating minutes of letter-by-letter comparison.  I prefer to modify the query directly by dragging the measure or dimensional attribute/hierarchy to my query window.  Then I don’t need to worry about mistyping anything.

While these templates will not teach you how to write MDX, they are an easy way to save yourself some typing or looking up a particular keyword that you have forgotten.  Looking over the XMLA queries, they appear to be more useful, as I am forever looking up the exact syntax for a particular XMLA query.

Versions: SQL Server 2005/2008

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reporting Services 2008 Configuration Mistake

To start working with the management side of SQL Server Reporting Services 2008, I decided to set up a report server and report manager. Unfortunately, I made a mistake while setting up my configuration that left me a little perplexed. Here are the steps I took to cause, track down, and solve the issue. Problem: I began by opening the Reporting Services Configuration Manager from the Start Menu. I clicked through each of the menu options and accepted the defaults for any question with a warning symbol, since warning symbol typically designate an action item. After two minutes, all of the warning symbols had disappeared, and I was ready to begin managing my report server. Unfortunately, opening up a browser and trying to open up the report manager resulted in the dreaded " The report server has encountered a configuration error. (rsServerConfigurationError) " message. Sherlock-ing it: I put on my sleuthing hat and went to the log file directory: C:\Program Files\Microsoft...
47 comments
Read more

Execute SQL Task Designer Limit

After migrating a package from DTS to SSIS, I had a problem with an Execute SQL Task. I couldn't change any characters in the SQLStatement property; I couldn't add any new characters; I could delete characters, but not retype them! After googling several variations of "integration services" "read only" and "Execute SQL Task", I deleted about half of the entry in a fit of frustration. Lo and behold, I could type again. Apparently, there is limit on the size or number of characters that can be entered in the SQLStatement property. From my experimentation, I came up with a limit of 32767 characters. The interesting thing is that the restriction only seems to be on the designer. If you set the SourceType to "Variable" and use a variable that contains more than 32767 characters, the task will execute. Also, if you use the "Direct Input" SourceType and modify the package XML to set the SQLStatement longer than 32767 characters, ...
10 comments
Read more

Manipulating Excel Spreadsheets in SSIS

Tom, an attendee at last weekend’s SQLSaturday Olympia , asked me how to refresh a spreadsheet from within SQL Server Integration Services. My first thought was to turn on the connection’s “Refresh data when opening the file” option in the spreadsheet itself and avoid the situation entirely; however, this may not always be a viable solution. Here are the steps to perform the refresh from within an SSIS package. First, ensure that Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel is registered in the GAC. If not, install the 2007 Microsoft Office system Primary Interop Assemblies . This will need to be done on any machine where you plan on running this package. Next, create a script task in your SSIS package that contains the following code (include your spreadsheet name): Imports System Imports System.Data Imports System.Math Imports Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime Imports Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel Public Class ScriptMain Public Sub Main() Dts.TaskResult = Dts.Results.Success Dim excel...
52 comments
Read more