Chapter 8. Adding Dimensions to Your Universe
In This Chapter
Creating objects
Creating classes
Using objects and classes
Creating a list of values
So you have yourself a brand-new universe â but now you need a dimension. Although that sounds like something straight out of science fiction, in this case a dimension is really just an object that youâll analyze. To make your BusinessObjects universe truly complete, your dimension needs one or more classes â and a few objects.
Classes and objects are the bread and butter of your universe. They are the data from your data source that you use to create your queries. But theyâre also much more than that. The object is really a SELECT
statement that is mapped to one or more column in one or more tables in your universe schema. (Hereâs the English translation: When you build a query in WebI, the SELECT
statement is referenced through the column that your object represents.) A working knowledge of SQL helps you with these tasks. If youâre a bit rusty, check out SQL For Dummies, 4th Edition by Allen Taylor (Wiley Publishing).
In the bigger picture, you include your objects in a class, which is simply a logical container that works like a suitcase (it can hold objects or other classes). You can create a class thatâs no more than a single object â though youâre likely to have considerably more objects than that in the class, depending on how much data you have that fits the class.
Classes donât have any technical mumbo-jumbo behind ...
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