March 10, 2011 at 9:57 am
I'm looking for the theory aspect. I've seen enough cook books, but they all seem to think I understand the why's of SSAS.
Are there books that are closer to a relational database theory text book out there? If so, can anybody recommend good ones?
Many times I look at the cubes I'm working on, and I try to craft a formula (say one that uses a value on a dimension to divide a measure) and I get it to work at the lowest level of the dimension, but when I expect it to roll up (say sum of calls divided by sum of distinct customer users) I'll wind up with #ERROR# or #VALUE# errors when I view the cube via excel or the cube browser at any level other than the individual customer on the dimension (for instance it won't roll up to state, or territory even though those are part of the same dimension, and it certainly won't roll over when I start combining that dimension with others).
This leads me to think that I don't get cubes and how they really work. And thus my request for a good book or theory course on their design and the concepts behind them.
May 6, 2011 at 12:57 am
Look for a book by "George Spofford" (http://www.amazon.com/MDX-Solutions-Microsoft-Analysis-Services/dp/0471748080)
You should also find yourself some good supporting tools that can help you generate MDX.
You'll need a viewing tool: Excel 2010 Pivot Tables, Pyramid Analytics, Proclarity (although now deprecated), Tableau.
May 6, 2011 at 9:21 am
In order to really understand MDX you should steep yourself in multidimentional theory. Read lots of Kimble.
I also found this a good resource as well: http://www.amazon.com/Expert-Development-Microsoft-Analysis-Services/dp/1847197221/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304695289&sr=1-1
Chris Umbaugh
Data Warehouse / Business Intelligence Consultant
twitter @ToledoSQL
Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply