Book Image

SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 Cube Development Cookbook

Book Image

SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 Cube Development Cookbook

Overview of this book

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system. As a database, it is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications. SQL Server Analysis Services adds OLAP and data mining capabilities for SQL Server databases. OLAP (online analytical processing) is a technique for analyzing business data for effective business intelligence. This practical guide teaches you how to build business intelligence solutions using Microsoft’s core product – SQL Server Analysis Services. The book covers the traditional multi-dimensional model which has been around for over a decade as well as the tabular model introduced with SQL Server 2012. Starting with comparing MultiDimensional and tabular models – discussing the values and limitations of each, you will then cover the essential techniques for building dimensions and cubes. Following on from this, you will be introduced to more advanced topics, such as designing partitions and aggregations, implementing security, and synchronizing databases for solutions serving many users. The book also covers administrative material, such as database backups, server configuration options, and monitoring and tuning performance. We also provide a primer on MultiDimensional eXpressions (MDX) as well as Data Analysis expressions (DAX) languages. This book provides you with data cube development techniques, and also the ongoing monitoring and tuning for Analysis Services.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 Cube Development Cookbook
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Introduction


DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is actually a combination of two languages. It is fundamentally a simple expression language, consisting of functions that work very much like Excel functions, which return either values or objects that can be used by other functions. Additionally, DAX is also a query language that can be used to execute requests for a Tabular semantic model and return an entire result set for use by a reporting tool or application to display data. DAX is an evolution of previous expression languages and those familiar with MDX and Excel functions will recognize its heritage.

Our journey down the DAX path will begin with an introduction to the fundamental components of DAX expressions. You will learn to use several useful functions that can be applied to business logic and get answers to business-related questions. Expanding on the topics introduced in the previous chapter, we will use calculated columns to combine data from two source tables and then design calculated...