Oracle Essbase 9 Implementation Guide- P69 pptx

Chapter 8
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Oops! There is an error and it looks like we have a wrong password in there.
But if there is an error message this is how you will see the error message.
Now let us change the password and rerun the script.
In the previous screenshot, you can now see that the script ran successfully without
any error messages. In the next section let us see how we can do the same while
using the EAS tool.
Executing MaxL from EAS
The EAS comes with plenty of tools and utilities. Believe it or not EAS also has a
MaxL editor where you can type all of the MaxL statements and execute the MaxL
scripts. In the EAS MaxL editor you do not need to specify the login commands as
you are already logged onto the Essbase analytic server through EAS.
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Here are the steps to execute MaxL from the EAS MaxL editor:
1. Within EAS, click on File | Editor | MaxL Script Editor. The MaxL script
editor will be opened.
2. The import database MaxL statement should be used to load the data,
as shown in the following screenshot:
This is how you can execute your MaxL scripts from within EAS. In the next section
we will discuss how you can make use of the powerful Essbase API to write highly
functional backend programs for your Essbase applications.
Essbase Application Programming
Interface (API)
The Essbase Application Programming Interface or API, is a programmatic interface
between your client or your application server and the Essbase analytic server.
The Essbase analytic server manages the transfer of data between client and analytic

server or the application server and analytic server over your network.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
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Chapter 8
[ 327 ]
Using programs coded by you to make calls to functions within the Essbase API, data
or results are returned from the Essbase servers you are connected to. The Essbase API
contains much of the same functionality that the Essbase software included with your
system contains.
Typically you don't need to be concerned with where the physical Essbase server
machine is located on the network when writing a program that uses API calls.
Locating the server and transferring the data, is all handled by the API through
TCP/IP connections.
Installing the Essbase API
The API functionality is automatically installed and available to clients and application
servers from the Essbase analytic server when you install the Essbase analytic software
on your server.
To install the API software on a client machine, you simply need to make sure the
API selection is checked during your routine installation of the Essbase add-in. If
the desktop machine in question has the Essbase add-in already installed, but not
the Essbase API libraries, you can perform a complete reinstallation of the Essbase
add-in without harming your current add-in installation. When you get to the
installation step where it asks if you want to perform a routine or custom installation,
select Custom. Then, on the next screen, select only the Essbase API.
For application server installation, the process for older versions would be just like
the steps for a client PC for the API only. Simply perform a custom installation and
select only the Essbase API for installation. Newer versions of Essbase (6.x and higher)
are shipped with an Essbase Runtime Client which will install all of the required API
libraries onto the target machine and support Essbase API functionality.

You now have the Essbase API on all of the machines in your network and can
begin programming Essbase functions from the Essbase API.
What you should know to use the
Essbase API
As you are already aware, this entire book is intended for use by IT professionals
that have at least some level of experience and understanding of database usage and
programming. Basic programming knowledge and experience with object-oriented
programming is required to really understand how to code effective programs that
take full advantage of the Essbase API functionality.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
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There are three distinct sets of API programming libraries for your programming
convenience. There is a full Visual Basic library of API functionality, a full C library
of API functionality, and a full Java function library as well.
For the sake of consistency throughout this book and the usability in Microsoft Excel
VBA, we will discuss the Visual Basic or VB API library of functions. Complete
documentation can be found in the online technical reference included with and
accessible from the EAS tool.
Oracle Essbase also supports a complete Java API framework with a vast array of
predened packages and functions that allow the Essbase installation to exist on a
distributed server environment that supports a full web-based application. Custom
functions and controls are also supported. In order to run the Java API you need to
install the Hyperion provider services. Much more information about the Java API
can be found in the N-tier Application Programming Interface guide included with
your Oracle Essbase installation package.
Remember that COM+ objects are written in VB code, and
any API functionality can be written into one as easily as

into a formal Visual Basic program.
The benet of COM+ objects is that their functionality can
be available on a server to support client calls, as well as
web-based calls.
What functions are available in the
Essbase API
There is a vast array of functionality available in the Essbase API. In the easily
available Essbase API documentation the API functions are divided into two
functional group categories.
The rst category is the Visual Basic Main API group of functions. These
functions perform tasks that you would perform during day-to-day operations.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
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Chapter 8
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As you can see from the previous list, the main API functions offer quite an assortment
of functions that can make your life easier. There are functions for setting all kinds of
application and database properties and attributes. There are functions for database
maintenance and user maintenance. There are even le functions, security functions,
and database object functions. There are also many database related functions.
The second category of Essbase API functions is the Visual Basic Outline API group
of functions. As the name suggests, this category of API functions is more specically
targeted to the Essbase database outline.
From the previous list you can see that the Outline API functions allows you specic
Essbase database outline functionality.
With the combined functionality of both API categories written into a comprehensive
enough of a program that you can practically build, populate, and use an Essbase
application/database without ever touching the actual EAS tool.
Essbase API programming tips

A good coding style to adopt when writing code in any programming language is
the indented or nested coding style. This style is recommended the world over for
writing easy to follow written code instructions. The indented or nested coding style
allows for easier debugging and enhancing of your code, now and in the future. The
nested coding style also helps ensure that you will remember to follow the opening
of a function with the closing of a function.
This material is copyright and is licensed for the sole use by Paul Corcorran on 5th July 2009
8601 ave. p #1, , lubbock, , 79423
Download at Boykma.Com