OLAP's usage can offer a huge amount of posibilities referring to data analysis and data mining. Specially, when users are made to it and their funcionalities. Consequently, it becomes a powerful device where one can accomplish multiple operations in periods of time much sorters than when programming is imperative.

1 How to access to OLAP?

Accesing OLAP is made only from the main menu of the app.

The button "DBOlap" links directly to the product.

2 OLAP's composition

The begining routine using OLAP tool can be tedious if no information is given about it and its funcionalities. In order to avoid this fact, some descriptions are given next.

First of all, it is necessary to understand that OLAP uses multidimensional structures to perform data processing. This means that the variables that are going to be used in the OLAP application are stored in "dimensions", that can be chosen to be represented in the way client wants. All of this information is recorded in a database that needs to be selected first, and a schema and a cube, that are already prepared for the user.

From this point forward, the interface becomes really intuitive; one must follow the steps that considers are going to represent the data in the way he/she wants, this means, moving the variables to the columns or rows and the measures to their window.

OLAP's general overview.

It can be said that OLAP is composed by: minor windows, a main window and menus. Using this three parts of OLAP properly is a key point if great results are expected. To clarify their functions and properties, following sub-sections are suggested.

2.1 Minor windows

Minor windows are responisble for the construction of the data display that the user wants to achieve.

The minor windows are the following:

Window Description
Data source Selection of the database, schema and cube.
Dimensions Allows the access to all the data that can be used in the current OLAP application.
Measures Composed by those variables that are the result of an operation (counting, totals sum, average, etc...).
Rows Variables that are desired to compose the rows of the representation should be dragged to rows.
Columns Analagous, variables that are desired to compose the columns of the representation should be dragged to columns.
Filters Variables that are desired to act as filters to the whole data should be dragged to filters.
OLAP's minor windows overview.

2.2 Main window

The main window is the place where representations are shown, either they are on tables or on charts.

OLAP's main window overview.

2.3 Menus

The icons can be divided into two splitted menus, the upper one and the right one.

  • Upper menu

    The upper menu contains the buttons that are going to operate the displays: running, deleting, making favorites, or even downloading them.

    OLAP's upper menu.
  • Right menu

    While, on the other hand, the right menu is the responsible for customize the representations: going from table to chart or also obtaining the sql/xml sentences that build the tables or charts.

    OLAP's right menu.
    Example of the switch between a chart and a table:
    Table display.
    Chart display.