Validation and Generation

Validation

Validation is the process of checking all the dimension definitions and rules etc. that have been added in the model designer to make sure they all conform the Cubix requirements.

The process can be run at any time, and will check for items such as conflicting or duplicated dimension member names, calculation rules referring to invalid cell ranges and sets containing items that don’t exist.

The validation window will show progress through checking each element and will list any errors found. The most recent validation log file can be viewed at any time by clicking on the View Log button.

Generation

Generation is the final step to make when creating or amending a model design. This is where all the definitions and rules are compiled into a live model which can be accessed by users. If a model change has been detected and a validation has not been run, the generate process will first of all run a full validation.

There are two Generate methods and two options to consider.

• Create a new database and overwrite existing data will generate a new empty model. If a version of that model already exists, it will be overwritten and any data will be lost. This is the default option when creating new models.
• Create a new database and restore all existing data will firstly take a backup of any data in the existing model, then generate the new updated model and restore the data from the backup. This is the recommended option to use when generating updated or changed versions of an existing model.

!Any data relating to a dimension member that existed in a previous version of a model but has now been removed, will not be restored in the new model.

• Merge Runtime Passwords should be ticked when generating an updated model, so that any user passwords previously set are maintained.
• Calculate and Consolidate Model when ticked will fully re-calculate and consolidate all the restored data as the final step in the generate process. If this is not ticked a user will need to run a full calculate and and consolidate in Cubix to ensure the data is up to date.

Generate Rules

If a change has been made to some calculation rules, but no other model changes made, the Generate Rules option is available. This will updated the calculation logic in the final model without the need for a full generate and restore of data. For large models this can be very useful.