Let's now go through some of the most important components in every database.
The database outline
Linked Reporting Objects
Partitions
Calculation scripts
Report scripts
Rules files
The database outline defines the structure of the multi-dimensional database, including its hierarchies, member formulas, and child to parent consolidations (data rollups).
Once a database is created, an Essbase outline is also created with the same name. This file is saved on the Essbase server with the .otl
extension. In the next chapter, we talk in-depth about the Essbase outline.
Using the Linked Reporting Objects (LRO), you can attach an object to a cell. For instance, you could have a flowchart attached to a specific value in a cell alerting the user when the value was requested.
This object can be any of the following items:
Cell note
An externally created file like Microsoft Word, an image, or another Microsoft Excel file
URL
Another Essbase database...