Where the business definition has been set in the properties of either a fact or dimension column, WhereScape RED will attempt to record this information in the database.
For the SQL Server database, the business definition is also stored as a column comment via the sp_addextendedproperty procedure with a property name of Comment.
In addition, several metadata views exist to make the task of connecting an end-user query tool to the data warehouse simpler. Many end-user tools can make use of external data to populate their end-user-layer (eul) definitions. Using these views, end-user query tools can utilize WhereScape RED's business metadata.
The views supplied are:
Dimension tables and columns
The view ws_admin_v_dim_col provides a listing of all columns in all dimensions that have the 'Eul visible' flag set. Included in the information provided is the business definition and description of the column as defined within WhereScape RED.
Fact tables and columns
The view ws_admin_v_fact_col provides a listing of all columns in all fact tables that have the 'Eul visible' flag set. Included in the information provided is the business definition and description of the column as defined within WhereScape RED.
Fact - Dimension Joins
The view ws_admin_v_fact_join provides a listing of all fact tables and all the dimensions that each fact table joins to. Both the Fact table dimension key column and the dimension key column are included in the view.