Microsoft Olap Solutions Book

The three authors of Microsoft OLAP Solutions approach the complex topic of OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) with enthusiasm and a great depth of knowledge. Written for the database administrator and "power analyst", their book is a comprehensive look at Microsoft's OLAP Services, part of SQL Server 7. It starts with concise and comprehensible coverage of OLAP terminology. Like the rest of the book, this introduction is admirably readable, given the complexity of the subject.It is of paramount importance to follow good design principles when planning an OLAP application, and design basics appear early in the chapter list, followed by "The basics of building a database with the OLAP Manager". This chapter encourages the reader to makes use of the wizards that Microsoft provides, is well illustrated with screenshots, and contains much extra explanation of the background to the questions posed by the wizard steps. All of this is useful for getting started and increasing confidence.The MDX (MultiDimensional eXpression) language is covered in detail in five substantial chapters, followed by chapters on optimisation, security and maintenance. The data present in an OLAP application is subject to continuous change: not only is data added but changes to personnel, products and accounting methods must be accommodated and ways and means of coping with change are discussed.This is a highly technical book and the text, though readable, is very dense, and essentially unleavened by digressions, humorous or otherwise, so it can be heavy going in places. In addition, the authors have a tendency to leave acronyms undefined, leaving such sad orphans including MDX and--unbelievably, given the title of the book--OLAP. But these are minor faults and the book provides a wealth of useful information. With SQL Server 2000 on the horizon at publication, one hopes there's an update to this publication in the pipeline. --Mark WhitehornRead More