SSAS Maestro, SQL Server MVP and Business Intelligence Architect Bill Pearson introduces three “major players” within the MDX “relative” functions. These basic, but highly employed, functions include the .CurrentMember, .PrevMember and .NextMember functions.  Read more...

Beginning to learn and comprehend SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) MDX queries can be difficult after one has spent years writing queries in T-SQL. When trying to write SQL Server MDX queries, it's worth considering "How would I write this query in T-SQL?"   Read more...

Learn everything about MDX drawing only on your T-SQL knowledge in this series. Frank Banin continues talking about Calculated Members, Named Sets, and more in part III.  Read more...

When creating pie charts using data from Analysis Services, having the MDX query calculate and return the percentages along with the counts or sums is extremely efficient. In this tip, we walk through an example of how this can be done.  Read more...

Learn everything about MDX by drawing only on your SQL knowledge.   Read more...

Learn all you need to know about MDX, by drawing only on your current SQL knowledge.   Read more...

Business Intelligence Architect Bill Pearson introduces the MDX Ordinal Function, as a means for generating lists and for conditionally presenting calculations. He also demonstrates the use of the function in creating datasets to support report parameter picklists.  Read more...

To learn MDX, there is really no alternative to installing the system and trying out the statements, and experimenting. William Pearson, the well-known expert on MDX, kicks off a stairway series on this important topic by getting you running from a standing start.  Read more...

BI Architect Bill Pearson concludes his introduction to the MDX Members functions. In this Level we wrap up our exploration of the “family” group with the .LastSibling, and Cousin() functions.  Read more...

BI Architect Bill Pearson continues his introduction to the MDX Members functions. In this Level we continue our exploration of the general “family” group with the .LastChild and .FirstSibling functions.  Read more...

BI Architect Bill Pearson continues his introduction to the MDX Members functions. In this Level we continue our exploration of the general “family” group, with the Ancestor() and .FirstChild functions.  Read more...

Some of the most important 'Member' functions of MDX are often known as the 'Family Functions'. These are used in queries on multidimensional structures for analysis and reporting, and can refer to relative nodes in the hierarchy in much the same way as in a family tree.  Read more...

Bill explains what is meant by a 'Member' and 'Member function' in MDX. A member is an item in a dimension that include the 'measures' which are the values of the attributes that belong to a dimension. 'Measures' are themselves members of a dimension called the “measures” dimension. MDX has a set of functions, known as member functions, each of which allow us to perform operations upon any member of a dimension   Read more...

Bill Pearson continues his examination of the versatile Order() function, focusing upon its use in providing dataset sorts that reach beyond dimensional hierarchies  Read more...

The Order() function provides the 'hierarchized' sorts you need for reports and applications using MDX. In this Step, Business Intelligence Architect Bill Pearson explores using the versatile Order() function for providing dataset sorts that respect dimensional hierarchies.  Read more...

To learn MDX, there is really no alternative to installing the system and trying out the statements, and experimenting. William Pearson, the well-known expert on MDX, kicks off a stairway series on this important topic by getting you running from a standing start.  Read more...

To query an Analysis Services cube, MDX is used as the query language. In most business settings, one would find a set of queries that are common across a number of user query requirements. To cater to this, even with a modest size IT team, there is a good chance that the same queries are developed redundantly either within a SSAS MDX script or repetitively in an ad-hoc manner in client applications. In this tip we would look at how to reuse queries without redeveloping them over and over.   Read more...

Business Intelligence Architect Bill Pearson introduces the MDX Ordinal Function, as a means for generating lists and for conditionally presenting calculations. He also demonstrates the use of the function in creating datasets to support report parameter picklists.  Read more...

I used to think naively that IIF is an innocent little function that can only do good and help me...  Read more...

A sample chapter from a new book on Analysis Services. Check it out and see if this is the book for you.  Read more...