Generating Cubes

PowerDesigner can generate facts and dimensions from your operational tables to create a multidimensional diagram representing a cube. The generation will create mappings between your operational and warehouse objects as the basis for extraction scripts or in preparation for generating a BusinessObjects universe.

You can prepare and preview the multidimensional types of your operational tables and views before launching this wizard either manually by setting the Dimensional type value (see Table Properties) or have PowerDesigner retrieve them (see Identifying Fact and Dimension Tables). You can generate a BusinessObjects universe at any time (see Generating a BusinessObjects Universe).

  1. Select Tools > Multidimensional Objects > Generate Cube to open the wizard.
  2. Select the package where you want to create the multidimensional diagram, and then click Next. For DBMSs, such as SAP HANA, which require that you create your multidimensional objects in a package, PowerDesigner will force the creation of a new package if none exist.
  3. Select the operational tables from which to build your facts and dimensions, and then click Next. By default, PowerDesigner selects all the tables in your model.
  4. Select the operational tables from which to build your facts, and then click Next. By default, PowerDesigner selects tables with only outgoing references as facts.
  5. Select the operational tables from which to build dimensions around each of your facts, and then click Next. By default, PowerDesigner selects all the tables with direct or indirect references from your fact tables and will merge second and higher order references into the dimensions created from first order references.
  6. Select fact table columns as measures or attributes of your facts, and then click Next. By default, PowerDesigner selects non-key numeric columns as measures and all other columns as attributes. You can drag and drop columns between the Candidates, Measures, and Attributes trees as necessary
  7. Review the list of facts that will be generated, and click Finish to begin the generation.

    The Generate Cubes Wizard creates a multidimensional object containing facts and dimensions to represent your cubes:
    Multidimensional Diagrams - Rebuild Cubes

Parent topic: Multidimensional Diagrams