ptownbro wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:07 pm
Given that, here are where my TM1 questions come in....
1). Why isn't
Element Type associated with the
Element's data type?
I know that Lotsa isn't out at Jungfraujoch at the moment because if he was then the scream would be echoing off the mountains loudly enough to be heard from here. He explained this clearly. You even quoted his explanation.
lotsaram wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:59 am
Note the "element type" refers to the type of data to be stored. It does not have anything to do with the name of the element. All element names are strings.
Let's go back to what you said above.
ptownbro wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:07 pm
Using an example, assume you have a
Dimension named "GL Accounts" with four
Elements: "Revenues", "COGS", "Labor", and "Expenses".
As you can see, all the
Elements in my
Dimension are "string" data types,
No. They. Aren't.
Elements are
not data. They are
metadata. They
describe data. They tell you
where the data lives within a cube. They tell you
what the data represents. They are not, themselves, data.
It's like saying "My name is "ptownbro" which is a string, so clearly I am a string".
Or, if you prefer a relational explanation, ask yourself this question; what is the data type of a field name in a table?
No, not the field, the field
name?
Yes, it's a string. Can it ever be anything
other than a string? No. Does the type of the
name have any effect on what the field can store? No. So why even consider it as
having a data type?
Now ask yourself this question; what is the data type of an
element name? Repeat the rest of what I wrote above and you'll get to the same destination.
ptownbro wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:07 pm
2). What is an
Element really?
For N elements, and for S elements in the last dimension of a cube, it is either:
- a location where a value is stored for a given dimension; or
- the location of a value which is calculated by rules.
For a C element it's the location of a value which is calculated by consolidations.
ptownbro wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:07 pm
3). What is the distinction between
Elements and
Element Names?
What's the distinction between the person who uses the user name "ptownbro" and the string "ptownbro"? What's the distinction between the first worksheet in a default Excel workbook, and the string "Sheet1"? What's the distinction between the 4th planet from the sun, and the string "Mars"? In every case, as with the answer to this question, one is the object, the other is text that merely names that object.
ptownbro wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:07 pm
Intuitively I would have defined
- Elements as the items or records in a Dimension.
- Element Names as the value for the Element itself.
- Element Types as the data type for the Element (now I know that is not true).
The biggest favour you can do yourself is to stop trying to see multidimensional storage as analogies of the relational world. Yes, analogies do exist; a cube can be seen as analogous to a table, a dimension to some extent can be seen as analogous to a field, but the analogies are imperfect and can easily lead to confusion, like the way the measure concept spun your head around. You'll be far better off treating it as something new that you have to learn.
ptownbro wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:07 pm
Maybe cell data values are Elements also?
They are not. Values are values. Elements, dimensions and cubes are all metadata, which define the location of values.