Creating UDAs

Creating UDAs

You can create user-defined attributes (UDA) for members. For example, you might create a UDA called Debit. Use UDAs in the following places:

• Calculation scripts. After you define a UDA, you can query a member for its UDA in a calculation script. For example, you can multiply all members with the UDA Debit by –1 so that they display as either positive or negative (depending on how the data is currently stored). See Developing Calculation Scripts.
• Data loading. You can change the sign of the data as it is loaded into the database based on its UDA. See Flipping Field Signs.

To perform a calculation, selectively retrieve data based on attribute values, or provide full crosstab, pivot, and drill-down support in the spreadsheet, create attribute dimensions instead of UDAs. See Comparing Attributes and UDAs.

Rules when creating UDAs:

• You can define multiple UDAs per member.
• You cannot set the same UDA twice for one member.
• You can set the same UDA for different members.
• A UDA name can be the same as a member, alias, level, or generation name. Follow the same naming rules as for members. See Naming Restrictions for Dimensions, Members, and Aliases.
• You cannot create a UDA on shared members.
• You cannot create a UDA on members of attribute dimensions.
• A UDA applies to the specified member only. Descendants and ancestors of the member do not automatically receive the same UDA.

  To add UDAs to a member, see “Working with UDAs” in the Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online Help.