43.How do you define universe parameters? The first step in creating a universe is to specify its parameters.

These parame ters include the definition of a universe, which is comprised of: the universe name a description of the universe a connection to an RDBMS You enter universe parameters from the Universe Parameters dialog box. This dial og box also lets you set up database options, external strategies, graphic optio ns, and print settings. 44.How do you select tables and columns? You create the initial classes and objects of your universe by selecting them fr om the tables and columns listed in the Table Browser, and inserting them into t he Structure pane.Depending on the database connection parameters, the browser p resents you with a list of database tables and columns. Note Before selecting tables, you should indicate the strategies you wish to use in c reating your universe. 45.How do you test the integrity of a universe? With the Check Integrity command, you can test the structure of your active univ erse. This means testing to determine whether its components are accurate and up -to-date. Check Integrity serves the following purposes: It detects any inconsistencies in the objects, joins, conditions, and cardinalit ies of your universe. It detects whether there are any loops in the joins. It determines whether changes were made to the database to which the uni verse is connected. 46.What is a universe? A universe is a business-oriented mapping of the data structure found in databas es: tables, columns, joins, etc. It can represent any specific application, syst em, or group of users. For example, a universe can relate to a department in a c ompany such as marketing or accounting.In the BusinessObjects User module, unive rses enable end users to build queries from which they can generate and perform analysis.Universes isolate end users from the complexities of the database struc ture as well as the intricacies of SQL syntax. 47.What is aggregate awareness? Aggregate awareness is a feature that makes use of predefined aggregate tables t o enhance the performance of SQL transactions. It is used to improve the speed b y which aggregates are calculated in the database. To set up aggregate awareness in a universe, you define or more objects using th e @Aggregate_Aware function. The syntax for this function is as follows: @Aggregate_Aware(aggregate_table_1, ... aggregate_table_n) The arguments of this function are all the names of alternative aggregate tables . When you formulate the syntax, you should be aware of the order of the argumen ts. The precedence is from left to right; this means that BusinessObjects determ

ines the aggregate to use beginning from the leftmost argument. As a general rule, you should enter the most aggregate table as the first argume nt, the next most aggregate table as the second argument, and so on.You must the n use the Aggregate Navigation editor to set up a list of incompatible objects a nd/or incompatible conditions for each aggregate table in your universe. These a re the components that cannot be used with an aggregate table.You can either set up these lists manually, or cause the list of objects to be detected by Designe r. 48.What is multidimensional analysis? Multidimensional analysis is a technique for manipulating data in order to view it from different perspectives and on different levels of detail. In BusinessObj ects, multidimensional analysis involves drill mode and slice-and-dice mode, and is enabled by the Analyzer and Explorer components of the User module. To set up a universe for multidimensional analysis, you must define hierarchies and dimensions that determine how users view and analyze the data. A dimension is simply the object to be tracked. A dimension can be an object suc h as Country, Region, and City. A hierarchy is an ordered series of related dime nsions. An example of a hierarchy is Geography, which may group dimensions such as Country, Region, and City. 49.What are classes? A class is a logical grouping of objects within a universe. In general, the name of a class reflects a business concept that conveys the category or type of obj ects. For example, in a universe pertaining to human resources, one class might be Employees. A class can be further divided into subclasses. In the human resources universe, a subclass of the Employees class could be Personal Information.As designer, yo u are free to define hierarchies of classes and subclasses in a model that best reflects the business concepts of your organization. 50.What are objects? An object is the most refined component in a universe. It maps to data or a deri vation of data in the database. Using objects, end users can build queries to ge nerate reports.The name of an object suggests a concept drawn from the terminolo gy of a business or discipline. For a human resources manager, objects might be Employee Name, Address, Salary, or Bonus, while for a financial analyst, objects might be Profit Margin, Return on Investment, etc.For the purposes of multidime nsional analysis, objects are qualified as one of three types: dimension, detail , or measure . 51.What is a list of values? A list of values contains the data values associated with an object. These data values can originate from a corporate database, or a flat file such as a text fi le or Excel file. In Designer you create a list of values by running a query fro m the Query Panel. You can then view, edit, purge, refresh, and even export this file. A list of values is stored as an .lov file in a subfolder of the UserDocs folder. 52.What is the SQL editor? The SQL editor lets you enter or modify an SQL statement for either the Select s tatement or Where clause. To invoke this editor, click the button to the right of either the Select or Where text box. You can type the SQL statement directly in the text box located in the upper part of the editor window. Or you can formu late your syntax by using any combination of the following elements: tables, col

umns, classes, objects, operators, or functions. To select an element (and cause it to appear in the text box) double-click it in the appropriate pane.The funct ions listed in the Functions pane include the native SQL functions of your RDBMS as well as BusinessObjects @ functions. For further information on @ functions, click . By clicking on a function, you can view its syntax and purpose; this information is displayed in the Description box. 53.Create a universe using the Quick Design wizard 1 Click the button on the Standard toolbar. 2 Follow the wizard through a series of dialog boxes to create a basic uni verse. Notes If you intend to export the universe, you must select Secured as the connection type. If you click the File/New starts Quick Design wizard check box in the Ge neral tab (Tools menu, Options command) the New command automatically launches t he Quick Design