Glossary

This glossary defines terms for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise

Edition. See also the Oracle Fusion Middleware Master Glossary for additional
terms and definitions.

Administration Tool

See Oracle BI Administration Tool.

aggregation rule

In an Oracle BI repository, a rule applied to a logical column or physical cube

column that specifies a particular aggregation function to be applied to the
column data, such as SUM.

In Presentation Services, users can see the rules that have been applied in
the repository. Users can also change the default aggregation rules for
measure columns.

alias table

A physical table that references a different physical table as its source. You
can use alias tables to set up multiple tables, each with different keys,
names, or joins, when a single physical table must serve in different roles.
Because alias table names are included in physical SQL queries, you can also
use alias tables to provide meaningful table names, making the SQL
statements easier to read.

analysis

A query that a user creates on the Criteria tab in Presentation Services. An

analysis can optionally contain one or more filters or selection steps to
restrict the results.

See also filter and selection step.

analysis criteria

Consists of the columns, filters, and selection steps that you specify for an
analysis.

See also analysis.

analysis prompt

A prompt that is added to an analysis. When the user selects a prompt value,
that value then determines the content that displays in the analysis that
contains the prompt, only.

See dashboard prompt and prompt.

attribute

The details of a dimension in an Oracle BI repository. Attributes usually

appear as columns of a dimension table.

attribute column

In Presentation Services, a column that holds a flat list of values that are also
known as members. No hierarchical relationship exists between these
members, as is the case for members of a hierarchical column. Examples
include ProductID or City.

See hierarchical column.

BI object

A piece of business intelligence content that is created with Presentation

Services and saved to the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog. Examples of BI
objects include analyses, dashboards, dashboard pages, scorecards, and
KPIs.

BI Search

A search tool that resides outside of Presentation Services. BI Search is

available from the Home Page after the administrator adds a link to the BI
Search URL. BI Search provides a mechanism for searching for objects in the
Oracle BI Presentation Catalog that is similar to a full-text search engine.

bridge table

A table that enables you to resolve many-to-many relationships between two

other tables.

briefing book

See Oracle BI Briefing Books.

business model
An object in the Oracle BI repository that contains the business model
definitions and the mappings from logical to physical tables. Business models
are always dimensional, unlike objects in the Physical layer, which reflect the
organization of the data sources. Each business model contains logical
tables, columns, and joins.

Business Model and Mapping layer

A layer of the Oracle BI repository that defines the business, or logical, model
of the data and specifies the mapping between the business model and the
Physical layer schemas. This layer can contain one or more business models.

The Business Model and Mapping layer determines the analytic behavior that
is seen by users, and defines the superset of objects available to users. It
also hides the complexity of the source data models.

catalog

See Oracle BI Presentation Catalog.

chronological key

A column in a time dimension that identifies the chronological order of the

members within a dimension level. The key must be unique at its level.

column

In an Oracle BI repository, columns can be physical columns, logical columns,

or presentation columns.

In Presentation Services, indicates the pieces of data that an analysis

returns. Together with filters and selection steps, columns determine what
analyses contain. Columns also have names that indicate the types of
information that they contain, such as Account and Contact.

See also analysis, attribute column, hierarchical column, and measure

column.

column filter

See filter.

column prompt
A type of filter that enables you to build specific value prompts on a data
column to either exist alone on the dashboard or analysis or to expand or
refine existing dashboard and analysis filters.

See also prompt.

complex join

A join in the Physical layer of an Oracle BI repository that uses an expression

other than equals.

condition

Objects that return a single Boolean value based on the evaluation of an

analysis or of a key performance indicator (KPI). You use conditions to
determine whether agents deliver their content and execute their actions,
whether actions links are displayed in dashboard pages, or whether sections
and their content are displayed in dashboard pages.

See also action, action link, agent and key performance indicator
(KPI).

connection pool

An object in the Physical layer of an Oracle BI repository that contains the

connection information for a data source.

See also Physical layer.

criteria

See analysis criteria.

cube

An OLAP (online analytical processing) data structure that lets data be

analyzed more quickly and with greater flexibility than structures in relational
databases. Cubes are made up of measures and organized by dimensions.
Cubes in multidimensional data sources roughly correspond to star schemas
in relational database models.

dashboard

An object that provides personalized views of corporate and external

information. A dashboard consists of one or more pages. Pages can display
anything that you can access or open with a Web browser, such as results of
analyses, images, alerts from agents, and so on.

dashboard prompt

A prompt that is added to the dashboard. When the user selects a prompt
value, that value then determines the content that displays in all analyses
that are included on the dashboard.

See analysis prompt and prompt.

data source name (DSN)

A data structure that contains the information about a specific database,

typically used by an ODBC driver to connect to the database. The DSN
contains information such as the name, directory, and driver of the database.

Connection pool objects in the Physical layer of the Oracle BI repository

contain DSN information for individual data sources.

dimension

A hierarchical organization of logical columns (attributes). One or more

logical dimension tables might be associated with at most one dimension.

A dimension might contain one or more (unnamed) hierarchies. There are

two types of logical dimensions: dimensions with level-based hierarchies
(structure hierarchies), and dimensions with parent-child hierarchies (value
hierarchies).

A particular type of level-based dimension, called a time dimension, provides

special functionality for modeling time series data.

See also hierarchy.

dimension table

A logical table that contains columns used by a particular dimension. A

dimension table cannot be a fact table.

See also fact table.

driving table
A mechanism used to optimize the manner in which the Oracle BI Server
processes multi-database joins when one table is very small (the driving
table) and the other table is very large.

DSN

See data source name (DSN).

Essbase

A multidimensional database management system available from Oracle that

provides a multidimensional database platform upon which to build business
intelligence applications. Also referred to as Oracle's Hyperion Essbase.

fact table

In an Oracle BI repository, a logical table in the Business Model and Mapping

layer that contains measures and has complex join relationships with
dimension tables.

See also dimension table.

filter

Criteria that are applied to attribute and measure columns to limit the results
that are displayed when an analysis is run. For measure columns, filters are
applied before the query is aggregated and affect the query and thus the
resulting values.

See also prompt and selection step.

foreign key

A column or a set of columns in one table that references the primary key
columns in another table.

hierarchical column

In Presentation Services, a column that holds data values that are organized
using both named levels and parent-child relationships. This column is
displayed using a tree-like structure. Individual members are shown in an
outline manner, with lower-level members rolling into higher-level members.
For example, a specific day belongs to a particular month, which in turn is
within a particular year. Examples include Time or Geography.

See also attribute column.

hierarchy

In an Oracle BI repository, a system of levels in a logical dimension that are

related to each other by one-to-many relationships. All hierarchies must have
a common leaf level and a common root (all) level.

Hierarchies are not modeled as separate objects in the metadata. Instead,

they are an implicit part of dimension objects.

See also dimension, logical level, and presentation hierarchy.

hierarchy level

In Presentation Services, an object within a hierarchical column that either

rolls up or is rolled up from other levels. Corresponds to a presentation level
in an Oracle BI repository.

See also presentation level.

initialization block

Used to initialize dynamic repository variables, system session variables, and

nonsystem session variables. An initialization block contains the SQL
statements that are executed to initialize or refresh the variables that are
associated with that block.

key performance indicator (KPI)

A measurement that defines and tracks specific business goals and strategic
objectives. KPIs often times roll up into larger organizational strategies that
require monitoring, improvement, and evaluation. KPIs have measurable
values that usually vary with time, have targets to determine a score and
performance status, include dimensions to allow for more precise analysis,
and can be compared over time for trending purposes and to identify
performance patterns.

level

See hierarchy level.

logical display folder

Folders used to organize objects in the Business Model and Mapping layer of
an Oracle BI repository. They have no metadata meaning.

logical join

Joins that express relationships between logical tables. Logical joins

are conceptual, rather than physical, joins. In other words, they do not join to
particular keys or columns. A single logical join can correspond to many
possible physical joins.

logical layer

See Business Model and Mapping layer.

logical level

In an Oracle BI repository, a component of a level-based hierarchy that either

rolls up or is rolled up from other levels.

Parent-child hierarchies have implicit, inter-member levels between

ancestors and descendants that are not exposed as logical level objects in
the metadata. Although parent-child hierarchies also contain logical level
objects, these levels are system generated and exist to enable aggregation
across all members only.

See also dimension and hierarchy.

Logical SQL

The SQL statements that are understood by the Oracle BI Server. The Oracle
BI Server Logical SQL includes standard SQL, plus special functions (SQL
extensions) like AGO, TODATE, EVALUATE, and others.

Clients like Presentation Services send Logical SQL to the Oracle BI Server
when a user makes a request. In addition, Logical SQL is used in the Business
Model and Mapping layer to enable heterogeneous database access and
portability. The Oracle BI Server transforms Logical SQL into physical SQL
that can be understood by source databases.

logical table

A table object in the Business Model and Mapping layer of an Oracle BI

repository. A single logical table can map to one or more physical tables.
Logical tables can be either fact tables or dimension tables.
See also dimension table and fact table.

logical table source

Objects in the Business Model and Mapping layer of an Oracle BI repository

that define the mappings from a single logical table to one or more physical
tables. The physical to logical mapping can also be used to specify
transformations that occur between the Physical layer and the Business
Model and Mapping layer, and to enable aggregate navigation and
fragmentation.

measure column

A column that can change for each record and can be added up or
aggregated. Typical measures are sales dollars and quantity ordered.
Measures are calculated from data sources at query time.

Measure columns are displayed in the Oracle BI repository, usually in fact

tables, or in Presentation Services.

metadata

Data about data. Metadata objects include the descriptions of schemas (such
as tables, columns, data types, primary keys, foreign keys, and so on) and
logical constructs (like fact tables, dimensions, and logical table source
mappings).

The Oracle BI repository is made up of the metadata used by the Oracle BI

Server to process queries.

metadata dictionary

A static set of XML documents that describe metadata objects, such as a

column, including its properties and relationships with other metadata
objects. A metadata dictionary can help users obtain more information about
metrics or attributes for repository objects.

OCI

See Oracle Call Interface (OCI).

ODBC

See Open Database Connectivity (ODBC).

offline mode
In the Oracle BI Administration Tool, a mode where a repository builder can
edit a repository that is not loaded into the Oracle BI Server.

online mode

In the Oracle BI Administration Tool, a mode where a repository builder can

edit a repository while it is available for query operations. Online mode also
allows user session monitoring for users connected to the subject areas in
the repository.

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)

A standard interface used to access data in both relational and nonrelational

databases. Database applications can use ODBC to access data stored in
different types of database management systems, even if each database
uses a different data storage format and programming interface.

Oracle BI Administration Tool

A Windows application that is used to create and edit Oracle BI repositories.

The Administration Tool provides a graphical representation of the three parts
of a repository: the Physical layer, the Business Model and Mapping layer,
and the Presentation layer.

Oracle BI Logical SQL View Object

Provides the developer the ability to create a Logical SQL statement to

access the Oracle BI Server and fetch business intelligence data and bind it
to native ADF components for inclusion on an ADF page. This view object
uses a BI JDBC connection to the Oracle BI Server.

Oracle BI Presentation Catalog

Stores business intelligence objects, such as analyses and dashboards, and

provides an interface where users create, access, and manage objects, and
perform specific object-based tasks (for example, export, print, and edit).
The catalog is organized into folders that are either shared or personal.

Oracle BI Presentation Services

Provides the framework and interface for the presentation of business

intelligence data to Web clients. It maintains a Presentation Catalog service
on the file system for the customization of this presentation framework. It is
a standalone process and communicates with the Oracle BI Server using
ODBC over TCP/IP. It consists of components that are known as Answers,
Delivers, and Interactive Dashboards.

See also ODBC; Oracle BI Server; Oracle BI Presentation

Catalog; Oracle BI Presentation Services server.

Oracle BI repository

The set of Oracle Business Intelligence metadata that defines logical

schemas, physical schemas, physical-to-logical mappings, aggregate table
navigation, and other constructs. Oracle BI repositories can be in binary
(RPD) format, in which repository metadata is contained in a single file with
an extension of .rpd, or in a set of MDS XML documents. MDS XML format
repositories are used for offline development only and cannot be loaded into
the Oracle BI Server. Oracle BI repositories in both formats can be edited
using the Oracle BI Administration Tool.

See also metadata and Oracle BI Administration Tool.

Oracle BI Server

A standalone process that maintains the logical data model that it provides
to Presentation Services and other clients through ODBC. Metadata is
maintained for the data model in a local proprietary file called the repository
file. The Oracle BI Server processes user requests and queries underlying
data sources.

Oracle Call Interface (OCI)

A connection interface that the Oracle BI Server can use to connect to Oracle
Database data sources. You should always use OCI when importing metadata
from or connecting to an Oracle Database.

parent-child hierarchy

A hierarchy of members that all have the same type. All the dimension
members of a parent-child hierarchy occur in a single data source. In a
parent-child hierarchy, the inter-member relationships are parent-child
relationships between dimension members.

See also dimension.

parent-child relationship table

A table with values that explicitly define the inter-member relationships in a

parent-child hierarchy. Also called a closure table.

permissions

Specify which users can access an object, and limit how users can interact
with an object. Examples of permissions include write, delete, and change
permissions.

See object properties.

physical join

Joins between tables in the Physical layer of an Oracle BI repository.

Physical layer

A layer of the Oracle BI repository that contains objects that represent

physical data constructs from back-end data sources. The Physical layer
defines the objects and relationships available for writing physical queries.
This layer encapsulates source dependencies to enable portability and
federation.

physical schema

An object in the Physical layer of an Oracle BI repository that represents a

schema from a back-end database.

physical table

An object in the Physical layer of an Oracle BI repository, usually

corresponding to a table that exists in a physical database.

See also Physical layer.

presentation hierarchy

An object in the Presentation layer of an Oracle BI repository that provides an

explicit way to expose the multidimensional model in Presentation Services
and other clients. Presentation hierarchies expose analytic functionality such
as member selection, custom member groups, and asymmetric queries.
Users can create hierarchy-based queries using presentation hierarchies.
In Presentation Services, presentation hierarchies are displayed as
hierarchical columns.

See also hierarchical column and presentation level.

Presentation layer

Provides a way to present customized, secure, role-based views of a business

model to users. It adds a level of abstraction over the Business Model and
Mapping layer in the Oracle BI repository. The Presentation layer provides the
view of the data seen by users who build analyses in Presentation Services
and other client tools and applications.

See also Business Model and Mapping layer.

presentation level

In the Oracle BI repository, a component of a presentation hierarchy that

either rolls up or is rolled up from other levels. Presentation levels are
displayed as levels within hierarchical columns in Presentation Services.

See also hierarchy level and presentation hierarchy.

Presentation Services

See Oracle BI Presentation Services.

Presentation Services server

See Oracle BI Presentation Services server.

presentation table

An object in the Presentation layer of an Oracle BI repository that is used to

organize columns into categories that make sense to the user community. A
presentation table can contain columns from one or more logical tables. The
names and object properties of the presentation tables are independent of
the logical table properties.

primary key

A column (or set of columns) where each value is unique and identifies a
single row of a table.

prompt
A type of filter that enables the content designer to build and specify data
values or the end user to choose specific data values to provide a result sets
for an individual analysis or multiple analyses included on a dashboard or
dashboard page. A prompt expands or refines existing dashboard and
analysis filters.

The types of prompts are column prompts, currency prompts, image

prompts, and variable prompts.

See also column prompt, currency prompt, filter, image prompt,

and variable prompt.

query

Contains the underlying SQL statements that are issued to the Oracle BI
Server. You do not have to know a query language to use Oracle Business
Intelligence.

query cache

A facility to store query results for use by other queries.

ragged hierarchy

See unbalanced hierarchy.

report

The response returned to the user from the execution of a query created
using Oracle BI Publisher. Reports can be formatted, presented on a
dashboard page, saved in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog, and shared
with other users.

See also analysis.

repository

See Oracle BI repository.

repository variable

See variable.

results

The output returned from the Oracle BI Server for an analysis.

See also analysis.

selection step

A choice of values that is applied after the query is aggregated that affects
only the members displayed, not the resulting aggregate values. Along with
filters, selection steps restrict the results for an analysis.

See also analysis and filter.

session variable

See variable.

skip-level hierarchy

A hierarchy where some members do not have a value for a particular

ancestor level. For example, in the United States, the city of Washington in
the District of Columbia does not belong to a state. The expectation is that
users can still navigate from the country level (United States) to Washington
and below without the need for a state.

See also hierarchy.

snowflake schema

A dimensional schema where one or more of the dimensions are partially or

completely normalized.

SQL

See structured query language (SQL).

star schema

A relational schema that allows dimensional analysis of historical

information. Star schemas have one-to-many relationships between the
logical dimension tables and the logical fact table. Each star consists of a
single fact table joined to a set of denormalized dimension tables.

structured query language (SQL)

A standard programming language for querying and modifying data. Oracle

Business Intelligence supports standard SQL-92 with several value-added
proprietary extensions.
See also Logical SQL.

subject area

In an Oracle BI repository, an object in the Presentation layer that organizes

and presents data about a business model. It is the highest-level object in
the Presentation layer and represents the view of the data that users see in
Presentation Services. Oracle BI repository subject areas contain
presentation tables, presentation columns, and presentation hierarchies.

In Presentation Services, subject areas contain folders, measure columns,

attribute columns, hierarchical columns, and levels.

transformation

Work that is performed on data when moving from a database to another

location (sometimes another database). Some transformations are typically
performed on data when it is moved from a transaction system to a data
warehouse system.

unbalanced hierarchy

A hierarchy where the leaves do not have the same depth. For example, an
organization might choose to have data for the current month at the day
level, data for the previous year at the month level, and data for the previous
five years at the quarter level.

See also hierarchy.

value hierarchy

See parent-child hierarchy.

variable

Objects in an Oracle BI repository that are used to streamline administrative

tasks and dynamically modify metadata content to adjust to a changing data
environment.

Variables are of the following types:

Repository variables have a single value at any point in time. There are
two types of repository variables: static and dynamic.
 Session variables are created and assigned a value when each user
logs on. There are two types of session variables: system and
nonsystem.

variable prompt

Enables the user to select a value specified in the variable prompt to display
on the dashboard. A variable prompt is not dependent upon column data, but
enables you to manipulate, for example add or multiply, the column data on
an analysis.

See also prompt.

virtual physical table

A physical table that is made from a stored procedure or a SELECT statement.

Creating virtual tables can provide the Oracle BI Server and the underlying
databases with the proper metadata to perform some advanced query
requests.