Glossary
What do all the TLAs and jargon really mean?
You can contact Nigel Pendse, the author of this section, by e-mail on NigelP@olapreport.com if you have any comments, observations or user experiences to add. Last updated on April 1, 2005.
This report uses many terms that may not be familiar to you and others that you may know, but which are used in a particular way in the report. Some technical definitions are simplified here and experts may be offended by our latitude.
4GL
Fourth generation language. Although easier to use than older (3GL) languages like COBOL, these are still aimed primarily at IT professionals. Several OLAP products include server 4GLs for complex application processing.
ActiveX
Microsoft technology for deploying Windows programs over the Web. Security considerations often limit its use to intranets. Used in a number of OLAP Web products, but fading in popularity.
Ad hoc analyses
End-users being able to generate new or modified queries with significant flexibility over content, layout and calculations. Should allow simple new ratios, variances and groupings to be defined in a point-and-click fashion, and for data to be filtered or ranked. End-users should not have to pre-define such requirements.
Agent
A program to perform standard functions autonomously. Typical uses are for automated data loading and exception reporting. Not to be confused with data mining.
Aggregate tables
Tables (usually held in a relational database) which hold pre-computed totals in a hierarchical multidimensional structure. Most tools allow “sparse aggregates”, which means that only a subset of the aggregate tables need be created, with other aggregates being generated on-the-fly from them as needed.
AIX
IBM’s version of Unix.
API
Application Programming Interface. A standard that allows programs from multiple vendors to be integrated. In OLAP terms, most OLAP server vendors have their own APIs, and the OLAP Council had been working on a cross-product API ever since it was formed in early 1995, but with little success. However, the later Microsoft OLE DB for OLAP API is already the most widely adopted by both OLAP client and server vendors, and has become the de facto standard.
APL
A Programming Language. The first multidimensional computer language, and the title of a book by Ken Iverson, published in 1962. APL is still in limited use, particularly in older forecasting and planning applications, but is rarely used for new systems.
Applets
Small programs that run in Web browsers; usually written in Java. Typically used to enhance the human factors available in HTML.
ASF
Analytical Solutions Forum, the business intelligence trade body that, in October 1999, replaced the ineffective OLAP Council which had been in existence since early 1995. The ASF managed the remarkably achievement of being much less effective than the failed OLAP Council and eventually disappeared, its solitary achievement having been the issuing of a solitary press release announcing its formation.
b2b
Business to business, conducted over the Internet
b2c
Business to consumers, conducted over the Internet. A well known British venture capitalist, Michael Jackson, was quoted (well before the dotbomb collapse) as saying that b2c is the fastest way of transferring money from venture capitalists to advertising agencies and the media.
Billion
Thousand million (109), rather than the original European meaning of million million (1012).
BPM
Business Performance Management; also known as CPM and EPM. The combination of planning, budgeting, financial consolidation, reporting, strategy planning and scorecarding tools. Most vendors using the term do not offer the full set of components, so they adjust their version of the definition to suit their own product set.
BPR
Business Process Re-engineering. A fundamental corporate reorganization based upon the processes that deliver value to customers. It typically involves re-orienting a business from a product or location viewpoint to a customer focus.
Bubble-up exceptions
Exception conditions displayed at a consolidated level, but based on tests performed at a more detailed level. Used to highlight potentially important variances at a detail level that cancel out and are therefore masked at a more consolidated level. Offered in a few OLAP reporting tools.
Cell
Data point defined by one member of each dimension of a multidimensional structure. Most potential cells in multidimensional structures are empty, leading to ‘sparse’ storage.
Client
A single user computer which is connected via a network to, and works in conjunction with, one or more shared computers (called servers), with data storage and processing distributed between them in one of a number of ways. An OLAP client will not normally store data, but will do some processing and most of the presentation work, with the server handling data storage and the rest of the processing. A client may be single or multi-tasking. Can include both thin and thick clients.
COP
Column-Oriented Processing. This is a class of database that is quite different to, but is nevertheless sometimes confused with, OLAP. COP databases perform high speed row counting and filtering at a very detailed level, using column-based structures, rather than rows, tables or cubes. COPs analyze detail and then occasionally aggregate the results, whereas OLAPs are largely used to report and analyze aggregated results with occasional drilling down to detail.
Although less well known and recognized than OLAP, COP databases have also been in use for more than 30 years (for example, TAXIR), which means that, just like OLAP, they predate relational databases. COP products are used for very different applications to OLAP and examples include Alterian, Sand Nucleus, smartFOCUS, Sybase IQ, Synera, etc.
CPM
Corporate Performance Management; see BPM.
Cube
A multidimensional structure that forms that basis for OLAP applications. Despite the name, most OLAP cubes have many more than three dimensions. in multidimensional OLAP (or MOLAP) databases, cubes are created and stored physically, whereas in relational OLAPs, cubes are a virtual concept based on a star or snowflake schema. A variety of corss-dimensional calculations and aggregations are possible within a cube, and the dimensions can usually be pivoted in reports.
Database explosion
The huge increase in database size that can result from pre-calculating a large proportion of all the possible aggregations and other pre-defined calculations. Databases can grow a hundred-fold if highly dimensioned cubes are fully pre-calculated. Despite a widespread myth, database explosion has nothing whatever to do with MOLAP or ROLAP architectures, and is just as likely to occur with either.
Data mining
The process of using statistical techniques to discover subtle relationships between data items, and the construction of predictive models based on them. The process is not the same as just using an OLAP tool to find exceptional items. Generally, data mining is a very different and more specialist application than OLAP, and uses different tools from different vendors. Normally the users are different, too. OLAP vendors have had little success with their data mining efforts.
DBMS
DataBase Management System. Used to store, process and manage data in a systematic way. May use a variety of underlying storage methods, including relational, multidimensional, network and hierarchical.
DDE
Direct Data Exchange. An older Microsoft Windows technology for automatically moving information between applications resident in memory via the clipboard.
Defragment
Process of reorganizing files on disk to make segments contiguous and to recover wasted space between segments. Improves performance, saves disk space and may improve data security should a hardware failure occur. Required when disk files are frequently updated in place, particularly if portions are dynamically compressed.
Dense
The majority, or significant minority (at least ten percent), of potential data cells actually occupied in a multidimensional structure.
Desktop OLAP
Low priced, simple OLAP tools that perform local multidimensional analysis and presentation of data downloaded to client machines from relational or multidimensional databases. Web versions often move the desktop processing to an intermediate server, which increases the scalability but the functionality remains comparable to (or less than) the desktop version.
DHTML
Dynamic HTML. A modern form of HTML, extended with JavaScript, that provides a degree of interactivity in ‘zero footprint’ solutions where no code need be installed on the client. Requires a modern browser. Gaining in popularity for Internet OLAP deployments, but often incurs serious performance penalties.
DLL
Dynamic Linked Library. Used to integrate multiple programs and provide the impression of a single product. Can also be used to hold function libraries.
DOLAP
Variously, Desktop OLAP or Database OLAP. The Desktop OLAP variant is more commonly used, though with the move to the Web, true DOLAP is now less common than in the 1990s.
DSS
Decision Support System. Application for analyzing large quantities of data and performing a wide variety of calculations and projections.
Decision Support Services. The name used by Microsoft for the beta 3 version of what was subsequently renamed SQL Server OLAP Services and then SQL Server Analysis Services, and was originally code-named Plato.
EIS
Variously defined as Executive/Enterprise/Everyone’s Information/Intelligence System/Service/Software. A category of applications and technologies for presenting and analyzing corporate and external data for management purposes. Extreme ease of use and fast performance is expected in such systems, but analytical functionality is usually very limited.
EPM
Enterprise Performance Management; see BPM.
ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning. The modern name for expensive, integrated ledger systems. Despite the name, these systems are rarely good for planning applications.
ETL
Extraction, Transformation and Loading. Activities required to populate data warehouses and OLAP applications with clean, consistent, integrated and probably summarized data.
Euro (€)
The European common currency, adopted by 12 of the 15 members of the European Union, as part of European Monetary Union (EMU). The euro comes into common circulation from the beginning of 2002.
FASMI
Fast Analysis of Shared Multidimensional Information. The summary description of OLAP applications used in The OLAP Report, and now very widely referenced elsewhere.
Gigabyte (Gb)
Strictly speaking, 1024 megabytes. In this report, it is normally used in the colloquial sense of 1000 megabytes or 1 billion bytes.
Groupware
Application for allowing a workgroup to share information, with updates by each user being made available to others, either by automated replication or concurrent sharing.
GUI
Graphical User Interface (such as Windows or the Macintosh).
HOLAP
Hybrid OLAP. A product that can provide multidimensional analysis simultaneously of data stored in a multidimensional database and in an RDBMS. Becoming a popular architecture for server OLAP.
HP-UX
Hewlett-Packard’s version of Unix, running on HP-9000 computers.
HTML
Hyper Text Mark-up Language. Used to define Web pages.
Hypercube
An OLAP product that stores all data in a single cube which has all the application dimensions applied to it.
IPO
Initial Public Offering. The flotation of a private company on a stock exchange. Public OLAP companies are nearly always listed on NASDAQ, and typically raise about $30m in their IPO.
IT
Information Technology. Sometimes used as a synonym for the computer professionals in an organization. Also sometimes known as IS (Information Systems) or DP (Data Processing).
Java
A 32-bit language used for Web applications. Usually, Java ‘applets’ are dynamically downloaded if they are needed in a session, rather than being stored locally. Wildly popular in computer companies’ marketing departments, but not so widely used commercially so far. Client-side Java is now falling out of popularity in OLAP tools.
JOLAP
The proposed new Java OLAP API, which will allow OLAP metadata and data to be created and queried. Sponsored by Hyperion/IBM and Oracle. JOLAP is still going through a long drawn-out specifications process, so no products support it yet.
Kilobyte (Kb)
Strictly speaking, 1024 bytes. In this report, it is normally used in the colloquial sense of 1000 bytes.
LAN
Local Area Network. High speed connection between desktop PCs and server machines, including file servers, application servers, print servers and other services.
Linux
Unix-like, open source operating system. Few OLAP products run on it, and sales have been minimal on that platform.
Maintenance
Fee charged by software suppliers to cover bug fixes, enhancements and (usually) helpline services. Typically charged at around 20 percent of the license fees, though some vendors offer tiered levels of service at different rates.
MDAPI
The OLAP Council’s stillborn multidimensional API, which reached version 2.0. The earlier, abortive version was called the MD-API (with a hyphen). No vendors supported even the 2.0 version (which was released in January 1998), and this ‘standard’ has now been abandoned.
MDB
Multidimensional Database A product that can store and process multidimensional data.
MDX
Multidimensional expression language, the multidimensional equivalent of SQL. The language used to define multidimensional data selections and calculations in Microsoft’s OLE DB for OLAP API (Tensor). It is also used as the calculation definition language in Microsoft’s OLAP Services.
Megabyte (Mb)
Strictly speaking, 1024 kilobytes. In this report, it is normally used in the colloquial sense of 1000 kilobytes or 1 million bytes.
Metadata
Data about data. How the structures and calculation rules are stored, plus, possibly, additional information on data sources, definitions, quality, transformations, date of last update, user access privileges, etc.
Minicube
A subset of a hypercube, with fewer dimensions than the encompassing hypercube. The hypercube will consist of a collection of logically similar minicubes.
Model
A multidimensional structure including calculation rules and data.
MOLAP
Multidimensional [database] OLAP. We prefer to avoid the use of this term, because all OLAPs, are, by definition, multidimensional, and therefore prefer the more explicit MDB.
MPP
Massively Parallel Processing. A computer hardware architecture designed to obtain high performance through the use of large numbers (tens, hundreds or thousands) of individually simple, low powered processors, each with its own memory. Normally runs Unix and must have more than one Unix kernel or more than one ‘ready to run’ queue.
Multicube
An OLAP product that can store data in the form of a number of multidimensional structures which together form an OLAP database. May use relational or multidimensional file storage.
Multidimensional
Data structure with three or more independent dimensions.
NC
Network Computer. A Web terminal with no local storage of programs or data. Includes a Web browser with Java capabilities. Not very relevant in the OLAP context.
Non-procedural
A programming approach whereby the user specifies what has to be done, but not the sequence of actions. In some cases, the system will also determine when to perform the operation. This approach is simpler to specify, but less predictable (and sometimes less efficient) than the alternative procedural approach.
ODAPI
Open Database API. A Borland standard for database connectivity.
ODBC
Open Database Connectivity. A widely adopted Microsoft standard for database connectivity.
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer. A company that sells products (including software) under its own label that include technology licensed from another vendor. The original product name may or may not be retained.
OLAP
On-Line Analytical Processing. A category of applications and technologies for collecting, managing, processing and presenting multidimensional data for analysis and management purposes.
OLAP Council
Ineffective former industry trade body which promoted OLAP and maintained the only standard OLAP benchmark; however, many major OLAP vendors were never members or left well before its demise. It evolved into the even more ineffective Analytical Solutions Forum which did nothing and died almost immediately. The defunct OLAP Council created a useful glossary of technical terms which is sadly no longer online.
OLAP product
A product capable of providing fast analysis of shared multidimensional information. Ad hoc analysis must be possible either within the product itself or in a closely linked product.
OLE
Object Linking and Embedding. A Microsoft Windows technology for presenting applications as objects within other applications and hence to extend the apparent functionality of the host (or client) application. Now on version 2.0.
OLE DB for OLAP
Microsoft’s OLAP API, effectively the first industry standard for OLAP connectivity. Used to link OLAP clients and servers using a multidimensional language, MDX.
OLTP
On-Line Transaction Processing. Operational systems for collecting and managing the base data in an organization, such as sales order processing, inventory, accounts payable, etc. Usually offer little or no analytical capabilities.
OO
Object-Oriented. A method of application development which allows the re-use of program components in other contexts.
PDA
Personal Digital Assistant, such as a Palm, PocketPC or Psion handheld computer. Can be linked to mobile phones or the Internet for sending and receiving e-mails or faxes or even browsing the Web. Much hyped, but little used, for OLAP purposes.
Platform
A combination of hardware and system software. Some OLAP vendors also refer to their products as ‘application platforms’, meaning that they can be used to build custom or standard applications.
Plug-in
Locally stored helper programs that are used to augment browser capabilities. Require different versions for different platforms, and possibly for different browsers, but currently capable of delivering better human factors and more functionality than Java applets. Occasionally used in OLAP Web products.
Procedural
A programming approach whereby the developer specifies exactly what must be done and in what sequence.
Q&R
Query and Reporting tool. Normally used for list-oriented reporting from relational databases.
RDBMS
Relational Database Management System. Used to store, process and manage data arranged in relational tables. Often used for transaction processing and data warehouses.
ROLAP
Relational OLAP. A product that provides multidimensional analysis of data, aggregates and metadata stored in an RDBMS. The multidimensional processing may be done within the RDBMS, a mid-tier server or the client. A ‘merchant’ ROLAP is one from an independent vendor which can work with any standard RDBMS.
SDK
Software Development Kit. A set of programs that allows software developers to create products to run on a particular platform or to work with an API.
Server
A computer servicing a number of users. It will usually hold data and do processing on the data. An application server may not necessarily store data and a file server may not necessarily do any processing.
Servlets
Java programs running on demand on servers.
Shelfware
Surplus software licenses which are bought, but not deployed. Some products actually have more shelfware than deployed seats.
Simultaneous equation
A set of calculations with circular interdependencies. Few OLAP products can resolve these automatically.
SKU
Stock Keeping Unit: a term used by retailers to identify the lowest level of product detail. Such level of detail is often not included in OLAP applications.
SMP
Symmetrical Multi Processing. A computer hardware architecture which distributes the computing load over a small number of identical processors, which share memory. Very common in Unix and Windows NT/2000 systems.
Snowflake schema
A variant of the star schema with normalized dimension tables.
Sparse
Only a small proportion (arbitrarily, less than 0.1 percent) of potential data cells actually occupied in a multidimensional structure.
Sparse aggregates
To avoid database explosion, larger OLAP databases must be only partially pre-calculated. A key part of this is to create only a minority of the possible aggregates, with the others being generated on-the-fly from the nearest available aggregates.
SPL
Stored Procedure Language. Database server based programs that can be invoked from the client or scheduled are usually called stored procedures.
SQL
Structured Query Language. The almost standard data structuring and access language used by relational databases. MDX is based loosely on SQL, though it requires a different skills set.
Star schema
A relational database schema for representing multidimensional data. The data is stored in a central fact table, with one or more tables holding information on each dimension. Dimensions have levels, and all levels are usually shown as columns in each dimension table.
Summary tables
Often used in RDBMSs to store pre-aggregated information, rather than holding it in the same table as the base data. Used to improve responsiveness. Sometimes also called aggregate tables.
SVR4
System V Release 4, a standard version of Unix used by a number of manufacturers as the basis for their own Unix variants.
TCO
Total Cost of Ownership. Includes hardware, software, services and maintenance.
Tensor
The code-name for Microsoft’s OLAP API, a set of OLE COM objects and interfaces designed to add multidimensionality to OLE DB. It has become the de facto industry standard multidimensional API, being adopted both by most front-end OLAP tools vendors and by several other OLAP database vendors. The official name is OLE DB for OLAP, and the 1.0 specification was first published in February 1998.
Terabyte (Tb)
Strictly speaking, 1024 gigabytes. In this report, it is normally used in the colloquial sense of 1000 gigabytes or 1 trillion bytes.
Thin client
A form of client/server architecture in which no data is stored and relatively little processing occurs on the client machine, which may in extreme cases be a Network Computer (NC). Other forms include the NetPC, which is a Windows machine with limited local storage and configurability. The thin client approach is a very popular concept, but its use should be viewed with caution for sophisticated analytical applications or power user access. Note that ‘thin clients’ often actually require significant processing power and RAM, as well as a high bandwidth network connection, and in the business context, are usually fairly high specification PCs with hard disk drives. See also zero-footprint.
TLA
Three Letter Acronym, like this one.
TP
Transaction Processing. The operational systems used to collect and manage the base data of an organization. See also ERP and OLTP.
VAR
Value Added Reseller. A company that resells another vendor’s product together with software, applications or consulting services of its own, thus adding value. The original product’s name is usually still used.
VC
Venture Capitalist. Source of investment capital for small, growing companies. Usually have an interest in companies going public in order to realize their investment.
VGA
Video Graphic Array. An IBM PC display standard with 640x480 pixels. Introduced with the original PS/2, it has largely been superseded by higher resolution screens, usually referred to as Super VGA and X[V]GA, typically with 800x600 or 1024x768 pixels. With larger monitors, sizes of 1280x1024 and 1600x1200 are becoming more common. Objects of fixed pixel size, designed for VGA screens, look very small and may be hard to read when displayed on higher resolution monitors.
Virtual memory
Apparently extended memory on a computer, consisting partly of real memory (RAM) and partly of disk space. A technique to handle programs and applications that are too large to fit into real memory. Can degrade performance if used too heavily.
WAN
Wide Area Network. Usually, two or more geographically dispersed LANs connected by lower speed links. Can cause problems with client/server applications that transmit large quantities of data between servers and clients.
XML
eXtensible Markup Language, the emerging standard for defining, representing and dynamically sharing information across the Internet. Already widely used in OLAP products.
XML for Analysis
Microsoft’s new multi-platform version of OLE DB for OLAP that allows MDX queries to be handled using XML documents. Not yet in widespread use, but supported by Hyperion Essbase 7 and will be the native query API Microsoft for SQL Server 2005.
Zero-footprint
Web architecture not requiring any software to be installed locally. This usually means HTML or DHTML, but some vendors also make this claim for software that uses Java applets.

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