Reviewing Basic Design Concepts

The following questions will help you to review report design concepts:

1. A Web Intelligence document consists of three components. What are the components?
2. A query filter contains three components. What are the components?
3. Which object type does not usually have a list of values?
4. When you list values in a formula, what must you use to separate the values?
5. What are the two benefits of applying a break to a table?
6. What are the differences between a query filter, a report filter, and a block filter?
7. What is the difference between a section and a break?
8. What are the differences between an ascending sort, descending sort, and a custom sort?
9. Why do you need to purge the data in your document?
10. What is the difference between a dimension and an attribute?

The answers to the questions are shown below:

1. A Web Intelligence document consists of three components. What are the components?

   Reports, Blocks, and Data Providers.

2. A query filter contains three components. What are the components?

   Object, Operator, and Operand.

3. Which object type does not usually have a list of values?

   Measures.

4. When you list values in a formula, what must you use to separate the values?

   A semicolon.

5. What are the two benefits of applying a break to a table?

   Data that spans lots of rows are easier to read. Breaks provide opportunities to display summary subtotal data in the headers and footers.

6. What are the differences between a query filter, a report filter, and a block filter?

   Query filters limit the data retrieved from the data source. Report filters further restrict the data presented in the specific report. Block filters further restrict the data presented in each block within a report.

7. What is the difference between a section and a break?

   Breaks only break the presentation of one block, and the block remains one object. Sections break up an entire report, and create iterations of all the blocks within the report.

8. What are the differences between an ascending sort, descending sort, and a custom sort?

   Ascending sort is from smallest to greatest, or from A to Z. Descending is the opposite, from greatest to smallest, or Z to A. A custom sort allows you to sort the values manually, in your own way.

9. Why do you need to purge the data in your document?

   The data in your document can be old and confusing to the report consumer. The data may be sensitive and should not be accessible to any report consumer. Forcing users to refresh the query ensures that security restrictions are being applied in report consumption.

10. What is the difference between a dimension and an attribute?

    Dimensions are units of analysis and can be merged with other dimensions. Attributes describe each dimension, and may provide more information on a dimension but not at additional levels of analysis.