Angles Generator for SAP Business Objects
This section provides information about the basic functionality of Angles Generator for SAP Business Objects (Angles Generator ) and its supporting concepts.
Overview
The Angles Generator automatically populates BusinessObjects universes with Noetix Views (NoetixViews), Noetix Analytics, and RapidDecision content, and then automatically exports the generated universes into the BusinessObjects Enterprise environment. As a result, report authors and query users can immediately begin using the SAP BusinessObjects to develop their reports and queries against their application data.
The generator also populates the BusinessObjects Central Management Server with NoetixAnswers, which are pre-built report templates built on NoetixViews. These report templates further allow business users to begin reporting on their Oracle data right out-of-the-box.
Key Functions
The key function of the Angles Generator are as follows:
- Creates BusinessObjects classes and objects, including the names, descriptions, and data types matching the concepts found in Noetix Search (Noetix Search) or Noetix Analytics Active Metadata Repository.
- For NoetixViews, Angles Generator organizes classes into two different types of universes: one set based on the organizational units (sets of books, inventory organizations, etc.) defined in Oracle E-Business Suite and another set based on the roles defined in the Noetix Views Help File.
- For Noetix Analytics, Angles Generator organizes classes into universes based on the relationship sets defined in the Active Metadata Repository.
- For RapidDecision, Angles Generator organizes classes or nested classes into universes based on the relationship sets defined in the Active Metadata Repository.
- Exports universes automatically to Central Management Server.
- Predefines relationships between tables that automatically identify the permissible joins between related Noetix views or Noetix Analytics/RapidDecision aliases.
- For NoetixViews, Angles Generator creates pre-built report templates against the generated universes to make authoring reports against Oracle E-Business Suite easier.
- Creates groups in Central Management Server to provide access to the generated universes and NoetixAnswers, making it simple for administrators to provide data authorization.
Supporting Concepts
The following are the supporting concepts used in this document:
Authentication
BusinessObjects Enterprise has the ability to integrate with third party authentication providers, such as LDAP servers, Windows Active Directories and Windows NT Domains, or to act as an authentication provider. The type of authentication provider associated with a given account must be specified when logging into BusinessObjects Enterprise.
Business Area
Business areas are specific to Noetix Analytics or RapidDecision. A business area is the combination of a module, such as Accounts Payable (AP) or General Ledger (GL) and a data source, either the Operational Data Store (ODS) or data marts.
Class
Classes are used within a universe to organize objects or other classes into logical groups. Classes are typically based on functional or business concepts instead of the underlying database structure that is being reported against.
Data Mart
Data marts are specific to Noetix Analytics or RapidDecision. A data mart is an analytical data store designed for a specific business function and audience.
Group
Administrators can define groups in Central Management Console to categorize users. Object permission can then be applied to groups instead of to individual users, streamlining security administration.
List of Values
A list of values (LoV) is a mapping used to optimize query time performance on prompt type report filters. When an LoV is in place on an object, SAP BusinessObjects will issue a SELECT DISTINCT query against a small optimized database view or table instead of a transaction view or table when populating prompt values.
Hierarchy
A hierarchy represents a hierarchical organization of dimension objects within a BusinessObjects universe. Hierarchies are used during multidimensional analysis.
Join
Joins are relationships that can be defined between two or more tables in a universe. Reports can be built against objects that come from tables that have joins defined.
NoetixAnswers is a set of pre-built report templates that are automatically generated against NoetixViews. These report templates are generated as BusinessObjects Web Intelligence documents that reference the generated NoetixViews role universes.
Noetix Analytics
Noetix Analytics is a packaged analytics solution designed to provide business users with strategic reporting for trending and analysis based on information from multiple data sources. Noetix Analytics provides users with an Operational Data Store (ODS) and data marts that can be used to create robust analytical reports and dashboards.
NoetixViews Role Universe
The Angles for Oracle Generator can generate universes that coincide with the roles defined in Noetix Search. These universes contain classes and objects corresponding to each view associated with the given role. These universes provide users with a way to create reports dealing with a specific Oracle E-Business Suite module (Accounts Receivables, General Ledger, etc.) for a specific organizational unit (set of books, inventory organization, etc.). In addition, the NoetixAnswers report templates are generated against the NoetixViews role universes.
RapidDecision
RapidDecision is a prebuilt data warehouse solution that automatically extracts, transforms, rationalizes and organizes data from data sources, such as Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne or Oracle JD Edwards World, into a data model for a single view of your business information.
Object
An object defines an item that can be added to a report. Objects typically represent columns in a database view or table, but can also be defined as expressions that perform calculations against database columns.
Operational Data Store
The Operational Data Store (ODS) is a component of Noetix Analytics. It is a minimally transformed copy of the transaction systems configured for use with Noetix Analytics and is typically refreshed more frequently than the Noetix Analytics data marts. The data marts use the ODS as the source for their extract, transform and load (ETL) processes.
Organizational Unit Universe
The Angles for Oracle Generator also generate universes that coincide with the organizational units (sets of books, inventory organizations, etc.) defined in Oracle E-Business Suite. These universes contain classes and objects corresponding to each view associated with the NoetixViews roles for a given organizational unit. NoetixAnswers are not generated against the organizational unit universes. The NoetixViews role universes must be generated in order to take advantage of NoetixAnswers.
Report Template
For information about report template, see “NoetixAnswers”.
Subject Area
Subject areas are functional groups of NoetixViews Global Extension roles, such as NoetixViews for Oracle Financials. NoetixViews subject areas can be generated into BusinessObjects universes.
System
A system defines the BusinessObjects Central Management Server that will be connected to. The system is usually specified when logging into BusinessObjects Enterprise.
Table
A table references a physical table or view from the underlying data source that will be reported against. Objects within a universe are derived from columns within a table.
Universe
In BusinessObjects Enterprise, a universe is the metadata layer that defines the data that users can report against and analyze. A number of universes will typically be created for a BusinessObjects Enterprise environment, organized by functional area or security needs.
Universe Connection
A universe connection identifies how to connect from a BusinessObjects universe to the NoetixViews schema. A universe connection must be created manually using Universe Designer.
Universe Subfolder
Universes can be organized into different folders to make maintenance and usage easier. These folders are called universe subfolders.
Z$ Column
“Z$” is a NoetixViews naming convention that is used for indicating joins between tables within a universe. Only tables with these relationships (Z$ columns) may be joined in Web Intelligence or Desktop Intelligence. In Noetix Search, Z$ columns will be listed at the end of the object list for a child class and are used for joining it to parent classes. The naming convention for Z$ columns is “Z$<parent class name>” (for example, Z$PO1_Vendors).
Some Z$ columns have a different, more complex naming convention, which is needed to prevent a parent class from having multiple relationships with a child class. These Z$ columns have the “Z$<qualifier>$” prefix before the query subject name (for example, Z$BGR$HR1_Org_Details). For such Z$ columns, a copy of the parent class will be created for each relationship, and the class’s name will use the corresponding qualifier as the suffix. For a child class to be joined with a parent class, the suffix of the parent class must match the qualifier of the Z$ column (in the child class) that is used for the join.
The following table shows sample Z$ columns with the standard naming convention and with the complex naming convention and the names of the corresponding parent class:
Child Class | Z$ Column | Parent Class |
---|---|---|
AP3_Invoices | Z$PO1_Vendors | PO1_Vendors |
HR1_Positions | Z$ORG$HR1_Org_Details | HR1_Org_Details_ORG |
Z$BGR$HR1_Org_Details | HR1_Org_Details_BGR |