System and method of modelling of a multi-dimensional data source in an entity-relationship model

• US 20050010550A1
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Published: 01/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Potter, Charles Mike, Cushing, David
• Application Number:
  US10/855,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20050010550A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/283 Multi-dimensional databases or data warehouses, e.g. MOLAP or ROLAP

Abstract

An entity-relationship modelling system for modelling a multi-dimensional data source in an entity-relationship model is provided. The entity-relationship system comprises an import module for performing translations on multi-dimensional data, a translation module for translating multi-dimensional data into an entity-relationship schema, and a repository for storing the entity-relationship schema.

Claims

1. An entity-relationship modelling system for modelling a multi-dimensional data source in an entity-relationship model, the entity-relationship system comprising:

an import module for performing translations on multi-dimensional data;

a translation module for translating multi-dimensional data into an entity-relationship schema; and

a repository for storing the entity-relationship schema.

2. A multi-dimensional model to entity-relationship schema translation system, the system comprising:

an input file comprising a description of a multi-dimensional data;

a translation model for translating the multi-dimensional data into an entity-relationship schema;

an output file comprising the entity-relationship schema; and

a computer terminal for storing the entity-relationship schema.

3. The multi-dimension al model to entity-relationship schema translation system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a multi-dimensional data source for storing the multi-dimensional data; and

an extract module for retrieving multi-dimensional data from the multi-dimensional data source and producing the input file.

4. The multi-dimension al model to entity-relationship schema translation system as claimed in claim 3, further comprising an in-memory model for inputting the input file.

5. The multi-dimension al model to entity-relationship schema translation system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a repository for storing the output file; and

an in-memory schema for outputting the output file to the repository.

6. A method of creating an entity-relationship schema from a multi-dimensional data source, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting multi-dimensional data;

performing translations on the multi-dimensional data; and

generating an internal entity-relationship schema based upon the translations.

7. A method of translating multi-dimension data into an entity-relationship schema, the method comprising the steps of:

producing a single entity in an entity-relationship schema for each hierarchy of each dimension in a multi-dimensional model;

producing a single fact entity in the entity-relationship schema; and

producing a single relationship between each hierarchical entity and the fact entity to represent a star schema in the entity-relationship schema.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

producing an entity in the entity-relationship schema for each level of a hierarch of each dimension;

defining a relationship between entities representing consecutive levels of a hierarchy; and

defining a relationship between the entity representing the lowest level of each hierarchy and the fact entity.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the step of producing a single entity in the entity-relationship schema for all hierarchies of a dimension.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the step of producing multiple fact entities in the entity-relationship schema based on a scope of multi-dimensional measures.

11. A method of importing multi-dimensional metadata, the method comprising the steps of:

defining connections to one or more multi-dimensional data sources;

selecting a data source to be included in an entity-relationship schema;

choosing one or more cubes from each data source that does not represent a single multi-dimensional object;

choosing a subset of each cube;

for each cube where at least a portion of its metadata has been selected, importing;

a name of the data source;

a name of the cube; and

qualifiers to identify the cube on the data source;

for each measure selected, importing;

an aggregator;

a data type; and

a unique name of a measure dimension;

for each property selected, importing;

a unique name of a dimension associated with the property;

dimension semantics;

a unique name of a hierarchy associated with the property;

an ordinal number of a level associated with the property;

a unique name of the property; and

a data type of the property;

for each level selected, importing;

a unique name of the dimension associated with the level;

dimension semantics;

a unique name of a hierarchy associated with the level;

a unique name of the level; and

an ordinal number of the level;

for each hierarchy selected, importing;

a unique name of the dimension associated with the hierarchy;

dimension semantics; and

a unique name of the hierarchy;

for each dimension selected, importing;

a unique name of the dimension; and

dimension semantics.

12. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of creating an entity-relationship schema from a multi-dimensional data source, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting multi-dimensional data;

performing translations on the multi-dimensional data; and

generating an internal entity-relationship schema based upon the translations.

13. A computer-readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for use in the execution in a computer of a method of creating an entity-relationship schema from a multi-dimensional data source, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting multi-dimensional data;

performing translations on the multi-dimensional data; and

generating an internal entity-relationship schema based upon the translations.

14. A computer program product for use in the execution in a computer of an entity-relationship modelling system for modelling a multi-dimensional data source in an entity-relationship model, the computer program product comprising:

an import module for performing translations on multi-dimensional data;

a translation module for translating multi-dimensional data into an entity-relationship schema; and

a repository for storing the entity-relationship schema.