Syntax for Specifying an Object in an Expression

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You can specify an analytic workspace object in an expression using the following syntax.

[[schema-name.]analytic-workspace-name!]object-name

where:

• schema-name is the name of the schema in which the analytic workspace was defined when it was created. By default, a workspace is created in the schema for the database user ID of the user issuing the AW CREATE statement. In almost any DML statement, you can specify the full name of a workspace (for example, Scott.demo). When the workspace is in your schema, you can specify only the name (for example, demo) instead.

• analytic-workspace-name is the name of the workspace that contains the desired object. By specify the analytic workspace name along with the object name you create a qualified object name (QON) for the object. Using a QON for an object is recommended except in those situations described in "When Not to Use Qualified Object Names".

  You can specify the value for analytic-workspace-name in any of the following ways:

  • The name of an analytic workspace. A workspace name is assigned when a workspace is created with an AW CREATE statement.

  • The alias name of an analytic workspace. An analytic workspace alias is an alternative name for an attached analytic workspace. You can assign or delete an alias with an AW ALIASLIST statement. An alias is in effect from the time it is assigned to the time that the workspace is detached (or until the alias is deleted). Therefore, each time you attach an unattached workspace, you must reassign its aliases.

    One reason for assigning an alias is to have a short way to reference a workspace that belongs to a schema that is not yours. For example, you can use the alias in qualified object names and statements that reference such a workspace. Another reason for assigning an alias is to write generic code that includes a reference to a workspace but does not hard-code its name. With the alias providing a generic reference, you can assign the alias and run the code on different workspaces at different times.

  • Within an aggregation specification, model, or program, you can use THIS_AW to qualify an object name. When Oracle OLAP compiles an object, it interprets any occurrence of THIS_AW as the name of the workspace in which the object is being compiled. Thus if you have a workspace named myworkspace that contains a program named myprog and a variable named myvar, Oracle OLAP interprets a statement myvar=1 as though it was written myworkspace!myvar=1. Within a program, you can retrieve the value of THIS_AW using the THIS_AW option.

  When you do not specify a value for analytic-workspace-name, Oracle OLAP assumes that the specified object is in the current analytic workspace. The current analytic workspace is the first analytic workspace in the list of the active analytic workspaces that you view with an AW LIST statement. You can retrieve the name of the current analytic workspace by using the AW function with the NAME keyword.

  
  

  Note: Your session does not have to have a current analytic workspace. When you start Oracle OLAP without specifying an analytic workspace name, then the EXPRESS analytic workspace is first on the list. However, in this case, the EXPRESS analytic workspace is not current; there is no current analytic workspace until you specify one with the AW command.

  
  

• object-name is the name of the object unless the object is an unnamed composite. When the object is an unnamed composite, use the following syntax.

  SPARSE <basedims....>

  For the basedims argument, specify the names of the dimensions, separated by spaces, for which the unnamed composite was created. For an example of using an unnamed composite in an OLAP DML statement, see "Reporting Data Dimensioned by Composites".

Objects with the same name in different workspaces are treated as completely separate objects, and no similarity or relationship is assumed to exist between them. Any OLAP DML language restrictions that apply between objects in different workspaces apply even when the objects have the same name. For example, you cannot dimension an object in one workspace by a dimension that resides in another workspace, even when both workspaces have dimensions with the same name.