Supporting Concepts
Supporting Concepts
Following are the supporting concepts used in this document.
About Generation Export file
A generation export file contains information about the NoetixViews or Noetix Analytics metadata that is generated through the standalone version of the Angles for Oracle-Generator. The file includes details, such as the generation arguments, custom scripts, IBM Cognos model files, and instance summary. You can export this information into a single compressed file with a .gex extension using the standalone Angles for Oracle-Generator. You can further manage or regenerate the metadata by importing the .gex file into the corresponding environment in the Angles for Oracle-Generator application. For information about exporting the .gex file, see Creating Generation Export File. For information about importing the file, see the Angles for Oracle-Generator for IBM Cognos for NEM Help.
Business Area
Business areas are specific to Noetix Analytics. A business area is the combination of a module, such as Accounts Payable (AP) or General Ledger (GL) and a Noetix Analytics data source, either the Operational Data Store (ODS) or data marts.
Data Source
A data source identifies how to connect to the database containing NoetixViews, the Noetix Analytics ODS, or Noetix Analytics data mart. It must be created manually using Cognos tools prior to generation.
Data Mart
Data marts are specific to Noetix Analytics. A data mart is an analytical data store designed for a specific business function and audience.
List of Values
One of the features in NoetixViews is the creation of simple views called List of Values (LoV) views. An LoV view is based on a single column in a table and is used to enhance performance when filtering data in a report. product name here creates query subjects for the available LoV views and the other Noetix views. The generator also populates prompt information for the associated query items to link the LoV query subjects to the other query subjects in IBM Cognos Framework Manager. When a filter is created on the query item in IBM Cognos Query Studio or when prompt pages are automatically created on the query item in IBM Cognos Report Studio, the source for the list of values will be the LoV view. Report authors may also create their own custom prompt pages in IBM Cognos Report Studio that take advantage of the LoV query subjects.
Namespace
Cognos namespaces are containers used to uniquely define object references, organize objects into groups, and specify default object level security. Generated Cognos models will contain several pre-defined namespaces (e.g. All Objects, Noetix Security Groups, Noetix Query Subject Definitions, and Custom Objects) in addition to a separate namespace for each NoetixViews role or Noetix Analytics relationship set folder. The generator will also group the roles it creates in the IBM Cognos Content Store into the namespace specified as the Security Namespace, or <CognosTopLevelNamespace> XML node, in the generator's input arguments.
NoetixAnswers
NoetixAnswers is a set of pre-built report templates that are automatically generated against NoetixViews. These report templates are generated as IBM Cognos Report Studio reports that reference the generated packages and models.
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.
Measure Dimension
Measure dimensions represent the quantitative data described by regular dimensions. Measure dimensions are typically known as “fact tables” by other analytic tools. Angles for Oracle-Generator creates measure dimensions based on the view columns that have a “Fact” usage.
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.
Package
A package is a group of query subjects organized by roles, which are published into the IBM Cognos Content Store for use by report authors.
Query Subject
In a Cognos model, a query subject is equivalent to a table or view in a database. For each Noetix view, a corresponding query subject is created. The view essay and description are used for the query subject description and screen tip respectively.
Query Item
Query items represent the columns in a query subject. They correspond to the columns in a Noetix view. The column description in the view is used as the query item description and screen tip. The data type, size, precision, and scale are taken from the Oracle schema.
Regular Dimension
In a Cognos model, regular dimensions organize dimensional data, such as key flexfield segments, into a hierarchy in order to provide context to measures used in a report. Angles for Oracle-Generator describes key flexfields as regular dimensions, using the segment order to define the hierarchy.
Roles
A Cognos role is created for every NoetixViews role and for each folder defined in “Business Manager” for Noetix Analytics. These roles map to namespaces in the Security Groups namespace of the generated model. Additional roles are described below.
Subject Area
Subject areas are functional groups of NoetixViews Global Extension roles, such as InsightsoftwareNoetixViews for Oracle Financials. NoetixViews subject areas are generated into Cognos packages.
Package Master Role
A Package Master role is created for every package of query subjects to make it easier for administrators to grant access to all the roles in a package. Instead of manually granting access to each role in a package, you can grant access to its Package Master role. Package Master roles are named with the term, PACKAGE_MASTER, followed by the package name. For example, the Operating Unit: Vision Operations package will have a Package Master role called PACKAGE_MASTER Operating Unit: Vision Operations.
Package Viewer Role
A Package Viewer role is also created for every package of query subjects. Package Viewer roles automatically allow users to open a package if they have access to one or more NoetixViews roles in that package. Package Viewer roles also provide access to NoetixAnswers report templates that are generated into IBM Cognos Connection.
Package Viewer roles are named with the term PACKAGE_VIEWER, followed by the package name. For example, the Operating Unit: Vision Operations package will have a Package Viewer role called PACKAGE_VIEWER Operating Unit: Vision Operations.
When report authors open a package, they will see only the query subjects within that package for which they have the corresponding Cognos roles. Unless they are granted the Package Master role, this will typically be a subset of the entire package.
NOTE: Users should never be granted Package Viewer roles directly. Grants to Package Viewer roles are designed only to manage package visibility, and are automatically recreated each time the generator is used to repopulate the model.
Report Template
For information about report template, see NoetixAnswers.
Z$ Column
“Z$” is a NoetixViews naming convention that is used for indicating relationships between query subjects. Only query subjects with these relationships (Z$ columns) may be joined in IBM Cognos Report Studio or IBM Cognos Query Studio. In the Noetix Help File, Z$ columns will be listed at the end of the query item list for a child query subject and are used for joining it to parent query subjects. The naming convention for Z$ columns is “Z$<parent query subject name>” (for example, Z$PO1_Vendors).
Some Z$ columns have a different, more complex naming convention, which is needed to prevent a parent query subject from having multiple relationships with a child query subject. 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 query subject will be created for each relationship, and the query subject’s name will use the corresponding qualifier as the suffix. For a child query subject to be joined with a parent query subject, the suffix of the parent query subject must match the qualifier of the Z$ column (in the child query subject) 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 query subjects:
Child Query Subject | Z$ Column | Parent Query Subject |
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 |