Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Because the data source view we are demonstrating has three relationships defined between the DimDates table
and the FactOrders table, the wizard recognizes these and adds the DimDates dimension three times to the cube.
And thus the DimDates dimension becomes a role-playing dimension. It is that easy; the only configuration you
need to perform with role-playing dimensions is to make sure you rename them appropriately.
As you can see in Figure
12-33
, the date dimension represents the Shipping Date, Order Date, and Required
Date. From the perspective of the cube, they are considered three different dimensions. But, from the perspective
of the SSAS database as a whole, it is only one dimension, DimDates.
Figure 12-33.
The DimDates dimension is being used three times within the cube
If you access the cube-editing window's Dimension Usage tab, you can see that all three dimensions are
mapped from DimDates to the FactOrders table as regular relationships based upon the Date attribute, as shown
in Figure
12-34
.
