Glossary

aggregation

a summary of detail data that is stored with or referred to by a cube.

application server

a server that is used for storing applications. Users can access and use these server applications instead of loading the applications on their client machines. The application that the client runs is stored on the client. Requests are sent to the server for processing, and the results are returned to the client. In this way, little information is processed by the client, and nearly everything is done by the server.

authentication domain

a SAS internal category that pairs logins with the servers for which they are valid. For example, an Oracle server and the SAS copies of Oracle credentials might all be classified as belonging to an OracleAuth authentication domain.

client application

an application that runs on a client machine.

cube

See OLAP cube

data mart

a subset of the data in a data warehouse. A data mart is optimized for a specific set of users who need a particular set of queries and reports.

data warehouse

a collection of data that is extracted from one or more sources for the purpose of query, reporting, and analysis. Data warehouses are generally used for storing large amounts of data that originates in other corporate applications or that is extracted from external data sources.

database management system

a software application that enables you to create and manipulate data that is stored in the form of databases. Short form: DBMS.

DBMS

See database management system

Extensible Markup Language

See XML

library reference

See libref

libref

a SAS name that is associated with the location of a SAS library. For example, in the name MYLIB.MYFILE, MYLIB is the libref, and MYFILE is a file in the SAS library.

metadata LIBNAME engine

the SAS engine that processes and augments data that is identified by metadata. The metadata engine retrieves information about a target SAS library from metadata objects in a specified metadata repository.

metadata promotion

in the SAS Open Metadata Architecture, a feature that enables you to copy the contents of a metadata repository to another repository, and to specify changes in the metadata that will be stored in the target repository. For example, you can use this feature to move metadata from a development environment to a testing environment. In such a scenario, you would probably have to change some ports, hosts, and/or schema names as part of the process of moving metadata from one environment to another.

OLAP

See online analytical processing

OLAP cube

a logical set of data that is organized and structured in a hierarchical, multidimensional arrangement to enable quick analysis of data. A cube includes measures, and it can have numerous dimensions and levels of data.

OLAP schema

a container for OLAP cubes. A cube is assigned to an OLAP schema when it is created, and an OLAP schema is assigned to a SAS OLAP Server when the server is defined in the metadata. A SAS OLAP Server can access only the cubes that are in its assigned OLAP schema.

online analytical processing

a software technology that enables users to dynamically analyze data that is stored in multidimensional database tables (cubes).

promotion

See metadata promotion

resource template

an XML file that specifies the information that is needed for creating a metadata definition for a SAS resource.

SAS Metadata Repository

a container for metadata that is managed by the SAS Metadata Server.

SAS OLAP Cube Studio

a Java interface for defining and building OLAP cubes in SAS System 9 or later. Its main feature is the Cube Designer wizard, which guides you through the process of registering and creating cubes.

SAS Open Metadata Architecture

a general-purpose metadata management facility that provides metadata services to SAS applications. The SAS Open Metadata Architecture enables applications to exchange metadata, which makes it easier for these applications to work together.

schema

a map or model of the overall data structure of a database. A schema consists of schema records that are organized in a hierarchical tree structure. Schema records contain schema items.

warehouse

See data warehouse

XML

a markup language that structures information by tagging it for content, meaning, or use. Structured information contains both content (for example, words or numbers) and an indication of what role the content plays. For example, content in a section heading has a different meaning from content in a database table. Short form: XML.