Conceptual Data Model - Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services - page 35

</DataSourceImpersonationInfo>
<Dimensions />
<Cubes />
<DataSources />
<DataSourceViews />
<Translations />
</Database>

You can see in the example presented in Listing 4.1 that the database contains collections
of the objects, dimensions, cubes, and so forth. (The ending s on Dimensions , Cubes , and
so on denotes a collection.) The Dimension and Cube objects are major objects and can be
changed independently of the Database object definition. You can find detailed informa-
tion about dimensions in Chapter 5, “Dimensions in the Conceptual Model,” and about
cubes in Chapter 6, “Cubes and Multidimensional Analysis.”

Figure 4.1 contains the most important objects of our multidimensional model, with
major objects in dark gray. Objects that represent the physical model and objects that
represent database security aren't included in the figure. These objects are discussed in
later chapters.

In the following sections, we give you an idea of some of the properties that are
commonly used in our conceptual model:

. Multilanguage support

. Ways of ordering your data

. Ways to specify default properties

NOTE
When you specify the identifier, name, and translation of an object, you choose from a
limited set of characters; in addition, the strings are limited in length. It's important to
pay attention to all these limitations, because usually it takes a long time to figure out
what's causing an error or strange behavior that is related to errors in the names.
Sometimes, the fix of an error like this can require a change in design.

Multilanguage Support

The Analysis Services multidimensional model features multilanguage support, which
comes in handy considering the trend toward internationalization and globalization of
today's enterprises. That support means that the data warehouse can contain data in
multiple languages, which, of course, affects data storage requirements. The object's
Language (sometimes known as Locale ) property is the identifier for a specific language; it
is used for both the metadata and in the data itself. In the metadata, it defines the
language of the object's Name property.