FSU Data Warehouse Universes in Business Objects |
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| The schema is a visual representation of the database tables and the joins between the tables. In Business Objects, this set of tables and the other defining information about the tables is called an universe.
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| The classes and objects are the database tables and columns. The object properties list what type of field it is (character, numeric, date); a description; the table source and name (some are renamed from original table name to be more meaningful); and whether the object is a dimension or measure.
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| There may also be a list of values (LOV) included with an object. A LOV is a small file that gets downloaded to your PC with the other universe information. It contains distinct values for that object (Term ID has the values 1,6,9) that you can use to build conditions in your query or just to see what the field contains.
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| Conditions are predefined statements that you use to build a query; usually in this format (where OBJECT X = some value); example: where Term ID = '9' (this selects fall term only) or where Term Year > '1998' ( this selects years greater than 1998.) Conditions can also be built containing prompts where the user enters the values when the report is run.
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| Indexes are a fast path to the data. Be sure to use index fields whenever possible to build your query. An index may have one or more fields. Dates like Term Year or Machine Date are indexes; Student ID and Employee ID are indexes.
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Some of the objects and conditions have Descriptions that can be seen at the bottom of the query window in Business Objects. Click the help button on top menu bar (second icon from left) to toggle descriptions on or off. If a List of Values has been created for this object, it will say "LOV included".
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