Attributes provide information that is characteristically nonadditive about individual dimension members. The General tab displays the most basic information about an attribute.
Analytic Workspace Manager defines basic attributes automatically. For all dimensions, it creates LONG_DESCRIPTION and SHORT_DESCRIPTION attributes. For time dimensions, it also creates TIME_SPAN and END_DATE attributes. You can create other attributes if you wish. You must map all attributes to their data sources.
Name
A simple name.
To provide default labels, use an underscore for spaces; Analytic Workspace Manager provides initial capitals automatically. For example, zip_code generates the name ZIP_CODE and the label Zip Code.
You cannot change the name after creating the attribute.
ID
The fully qualified name.
This information appears on the property sheet after the attribute has been created; it does not appear on the initial dialog box.
Short Label
A short descriptive name for display, usually in mixed case.
Long Label
A long descriptive name for display, usually in mixed case.
Description
Additional descriptive text, which can include mixed case and spaces.
Attribute Type
A classification of the attribute. Some attribute types must be defined in an analytic workspace for it to be fully functional.
The following table identifies the types of attributes.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| User | Any attribute that does not have a specially defined purpose. User attributes are typically used for selecting dimension members. |
| End Date | Last day in a time period. Required for time dimensions to support time-based analysis such as prior period or period-to-date. |
| Time Span | Number of days in a time period. Required for time dimensions to support time-based analysis. |
| Member Long Description | Long descriptive names typically used for identifying dimension members in selection lists, crosstabs, and graphs. |
| Member Short Description | Short descriptive names that can be used by applications instead of the long names. |
| Unique Key Attributes | Identifies the relational source for unique keys at each level of a dimension hierarchy. These attributes are generated automatically for materialized views. |
Index
Select this option to improve the performance of attribute-based queries. Note that creation of an index adds maintenance time and increases the size of the analytic workspace, which may become an issue for extremely large dimensions.
Default Order
Select this option for the attribute that will be used to sort the answer sets to queries. If no attribute is selected to provide the default order, then the dimension values are sorted in the order in which they are stored.
Apply Attributes To
Select the objects that the attributes apply to; otherwise, you cannot map the attributes to data sources. You can select:
The dimension. Attributes are available for all hierarchies and levels.
One or more hierarchies. Attributes are available for all levels of the selected hierarchies.
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