Dimension

Definition

A dimension is a hierarchically organized set of dimension values, providing categorical information for characterizing a particular aspect of the data stored in a multidimensional cube.

Key Points

As an example, a three-dimensional cube for capturing sales may have a Product dimension, a Time dimension, and a Store dimension. The Product dimension captures information about the product sold, such as textual description, color, weight, etc., as well as groupings of products (product groups, product families, etc.). The Time dimension captures information about the time of the sale, at the Date level or finer, as well as groupings of time such as Week, Month, Weekday, Quarter and Year. It may also contain application-specific time-related information, e.g., what the temperature was on the particular day (interesting for ice cream sellers) or whether there was a special event in town on that day, e.g., a big sports event. The Store dimension captures information about stores...