OLAP Fundamentals
The PivotGrid resembles a pivot table that uses Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) concepts for representing multidimensional data.
What Is OLAP?
OLAP is an acronym that stands for Online Analytical Processing. It allows access to data that is aggregated and organized in a multidimensional structure that is called a "cube". OLAP tools enable users to interactively perform analysis over multidimensional data.
For more information, refer to the following resources:
What Is an OLAP Cube?
The OLAP cube is a dataset that is organized in a multidimensional manner. Every cube has 0 (zero) or more dimensions. The cube allows the performance of different operations which answer complex analytical queries. The OLAP cube introduces concepts like facts, measures, and dimensions.
For more information, refer to the following resources:
What Are the Basic OLAP Cube Concepts?
- A fact is the most detailed piece of information that can be measured.
- A measure is an aggregated value of facts.
- A dimension is a categorical view of data.
What Is XMLA?
XMLA is an acronym that stands for XML for Analysis. XMLA is a protocol that is designed for universal data access to a multidimensional data source which resides on the Web. For more information, refer to this article.
The PivotDataSource configuration provides built-in support for XMLA by using specific XMLA transport and schema options.