RadarCube ASP.NET for MS AS: overview

Full description

RadarCube OLAP Library is a set of ASP.NET controls working as a client to a Microsoft Analysis Services server version 2000 or 2005. The library is written entirely in C# 2.0, and can be used in Visual Studio 2005, 2008 and also in their free Express editions.

 

With RadarCube ASP.NET for MSAS you get the following:

• Work with huge cubes and long dimensions with millions of members (MS AS 2005 only).
• Build your OLAP-solutions without having to use any ActiveX components, working only with web-browsers like IE 5.5+, Firefox 1.1+, Opera 9.0+.
• Use all advantages of ASP.NET 2.0 in the OLAP Grid including AJAX, Web Parts, etc.
• Connect to Microsoft Analysis Server 2000 or 2005 or to their local cubes either in the mode of navigation through the cube or in the mode of displaying the results of MDX-queries.
• Use all standard cube operations like drilling down, rotation, filtering, grouping and sorting.
• Save the current cell set any moment and restoring it back later on either in the same connection session or in another.
• Create additional calculated measures or calculated dimension members on the server side.
• Export current cellset into the variety of formats including BMP, CSV, GIF, HTML, JPEG, PDF, PNG, TIFF, TXT, XLS, XML.
• Create multi-language sites using the localization power of OLAP Grid.

 

With RadarCube OLAP Grid you get:

• Make the rows/columns of the grid fixed.
• Work with both KPIs and regular measures at the same time.
• View the hierarchies in pages along row or column axis.
• Get the full control over any grid cell content and web style, including creating custom popup menus.
• ... and far more.

RadarCube ASP.NET for MS AS: overview

Brief description

The RadarCube OLAP Library is a set of ASP.NET components operating as a client for Microsoft Analysis 2000 or 2005 OLAP-server. Written in C# 2.0 the Library provides users with a number of opportunities not available in such Office Web Components as PivotTable or PivotChart.

To run RadarCube you don't have to install any additional software like, say, ActiveX control. All you need is a web browser with JScript enabled. You can use either Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Opera – so, it doesn't matter which operation system you run, as long as it supports one of these browsers, you can create and view OLAP-reports. Now it's easy to work with OLAP data even if you're running Linux or Mac OS.

Try the online Demo Application to see how RadarCube ASP.NET works.

The Advantages of the OLAP Grid

RadarCube is a visual ASP.NET component with a set of methods and events that allow the user to adjust its functions and appearance. By setting the respective properties you can change the look and feel of any Grid cell. You can even substitute a text in any cell: insert hyperlinks, pictures, graphics, or any other of the ASP.NET controls. All this makes RadarCube a unique tool that you can run on your own web-applications.

Although RadarCube uses HTML and JScript only, it's highly competitive to its ActiveX analogues. All Grid operations (drilling, sorting, pivoting, filtering, grouping, etc.) are performed in AJAX-mode without any special AJAX library like Microsoft AJAX Extensions.

RadarCube and huge dimensions

RadarCube ASP.NET is specially designed to work with "long" dimensions and hierarchies. Thanks to the page mode data representation, RadarCube allows working with hierarchies containing thousands of members without any visible performance slowdown or redundant web-traffic.

RadarCube Usability

In RadarCube not only the Grid has flexible settings but there also are different popup menus that give an easy access to the RadarCube numerous functions. Popup menus are truly context and have special options for each of the Grid cells, depending both on the cell type and properties of the Cellset they belong to. Moreover you can easily customize any popup menu by using an appropriate event.

Time intelligence

One of the features available via popup menu is Time Intelligence. If the current Cellset has one or several time dimensions, then additional option will be available in the popup menus of the data cells to allow you to compare measure values for different time periods or to display cumulative sum since the given date. Also you can define additional Time Intelligence types.

RadarCube and MDX Queries

Not only RadarCube can be used for browsing multidimensional cubes, it can display the results of any MDX-queries as well. In that case the Grid won't support some operations, like drilling, pivoting, sorting, grouping, and filtering. But as always you will be able to change any cell's look and feel, edit its content, and also fix row/column headers.

RadarCube API

RadarCube is more than just an advanced MDX-client for ASP.NET. In addition to the standard ability to navigate on MSAS cubes and display MDX results, RadarCube allows you to conduct calculations and create calculated measures and hierarchy members directly on the web-server without any additional MDX-queries to the MS AS server.

Key Features

• Optimized for big cubes and "huge" dimensions. The only product that is able to process hierarchies with millions of members (for MS AS 2005 only).
• 100% managed code (C# 2.0), no ActiveX pieces.
• All ASP.NET 2.0 advantages. 100% AJAX.
• Support of IE 5.5 or above, Firefox 1.1 or above, Opera 9.0 or aboveIE 5.5 or above.
• Support of the client-side operating systems: Windows (all versions), Linux, Mac OS.

Cube Definition

• Support of the Microsoft Analysis Server 2000 or 2005 (2005 recommended) using ADOMD.NET 9.0.
• Support of the connections to local Cube files.
• Two working modes: cube browsing and displaying the results of MDX-queries.
• Support of hierarchies of three types:
  • Attribute hierarchies;
  • Parent-child hierarchies;
  • Multilevel hierarchies;

• An ability to create additional calculated measures on the client or server side, using both the information from the fact table and values of the aggregated cube cells.
• Support of additional calculated members of hierarchies on the client or server side.

DHTML Visualization

• 100% AJAX.
• Web parts support.
• Time intelligence support.
• Fixed columns/rows headers on scrolling the Grid.
• Simultaneous display of a set of measures, each of which can be displayed in several different modes at the same time.
• Support of the named sets and KPIs.
• Interactive drill-down support of all types of hierarchies separately for every hierarchy member.
• Saving and restoring the current OLAP slice.
• Member grouping on any hierarchy level without changing the hierarchy levels structure.
• Separate hierarchy or dimension sorting on any level. Possible overriding of any sorting method.
• Ascending or descending sorting based on any column value in the OLAP grid.
• Hierarchies' page-viewing mode. This feature allows to significantly lessen the network traffic and make the OLAP analysis easier.
• Filtering of any set of hierarchy members with or without applying these filters in the OLAP calculations.
• Auto filtering of the hierarchy members depending on their values in the Grid. Major/minor members selection, either based on their rank or on the Pareto principle.
• Display in the Grid not only the values of measures, but a percent value in terms of total, subtotal, or grand totals. A possibility to create your own context-sensitive rules of measure display (for example, a cumulative sum of measure values for time dimensions only).
• Complete control over any Grid cell contents and its web-style. A possibility to replace a cell's content with any HTML code.
• Custom popup menus in the Grid.
• Handy integration with charting and other third-party components.
• The flexible export to the following formats: BMP, CSV, GIF, HTML, JPEG, PDF, PNG, TIFF, TXT, XLS, XML.
• Easy localization. It is possible to localize the evaluation version as well.

Developer Requirements

• Visual Studio 2005, 2008, Visual Web Developer.
• Microsoft ADOMD.NET client.
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services 9.0 OLE DB Provider.

Server Requirements

• ASP.NET 2.0.
• Microsoft ADOMD.NET client.
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services 9.0 OLE DB Provider.

Client Requirements

• Browser: IE 5.5 or above, Firefox 1.1 or above, Opera 9.0 or above with JScript enabled.
• OS: Windows, Linux, Mac OS.