Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
How do you use your data in the real world
In the real world, you will have many different people using your Essbase database
and its accompanying data for many different reasons or purposes. Whether the
users of the database and its data are big shot executives, data analysts, or simply
an IT support person charged with ensuring a consistent and reliable feed of data
to a downstream system, they all require a smooth running system that delivers
the data as needed.
Ad hoc data
As the name implies, ad hoc data is your on the fly retrieval and interpretation of
the data in your Essbase database. This type of data usage is one of Essbase's biggest
strengths. As we will explain in greater detail in Chapter 7, the Essbase Add-in for
Microsoft Excel can and will be one of your most useful and used Essbase tools.
By simply starting the Microsoft Excel program on your PC, with the Essbase
add-in installed, you have the ability to quickly and easily create useful and
informative spreadsheets. With a little more experience, there is no reason why you
wouldn't be able to also create very professional looking reports quickly and easily.
No matter the Essbase add-in skill level, you can be assured that at any given time
someone, somewhere, may need to quickly pull some data from your Essbase cube.
This simply cannot be done with traditional databases.
Canned reporting
Canned reports are used with a little more forethought than ad hoc reports are
however, they can be pulled anytime the user decides they need to be refreshed.
When we talk of canned reports, we mean pre-created reports or system generated
report templates, usually in Microsoft Excel worksheet format, that the user can
refresh with new data whenever they see fit.
One thing you'll never get tired of seeing in this topic is the fact that a system created
with Oracle Essbase and Microsoft Excel is an amazingly easy to use and equally
easy to develop system. You can use the superb programming abilities already
included in Microsoft Excel VBA to develop easy to use, yet powerful, reporting
functionality. One method of this is the canned reports method. Another method is
the Essbase report script.
The Essbase report script is a script that is generated as a by-product of the Essbase
Query Designer which you access through the Essbase add-in. This script can be
pasted into a Microsoft Excel worksheet and retrieved to populate the data into a
respectable looking report.
