11/7/2014

RittmanMeadConsultingTheMysteryofOBIEEBridgeTables

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TheMysteryofOBIEEBridgeTables
August28th,2008byMarkRittman
IfyouveplayedaroundwiththeOracleBIAdministratortoolforawhile,youmayhavenoticedaboxyoucantickin
theLogicalTablePropertiesdialog,calledBridgeTable.IfyourefamiliarwithRalphKimballandsomeofthis
dimensionalmodelingideas,youveprobablyheardofthisconceptbefore,butitsnotallthatclearhowyouuse
bridgetablesinOBIEEandaquicksearcharoundtheinternetandtheOTNforumsdoesntreallycomeupwithan
examplesonhowitsused.

Bridgetablesareasolutiontowhatscalledthemultivalueddimensionproblem.Formostdimensionalmodelsyou
generallywanttolinkonesale,forexample,tooneproduct,onecustomer,onetimeperiodandsoon,andthis
translatesintoasimpledimensionalmodelwhereyourfacttablecontainsasinglekeyvalueperdimensionforeach
rowthatsbeenstored.Insomecircumstancesthough,saywhereyouarerecordingthediagnosesforapatientorthe
claimelementsinaclaim,youmightneedtorecordmorethanonekeyvalueforaparticulardimensionineachfact
tablerow.Inentityrelationshipmodelingterms,youvegotamanytomanyrelationshipbetweenpatientadmissions
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anddiagnoses,likethis:

andtheusualwayyouresolvethesemanytomanyrelationshipsistouseanintersectiontable,withthekeyfromthe
patientadmissionstableandthekeyfromthediagnosestablecopiedacrosstoformtheintersection,andusuallywitha
weightingcolumnthataddsupto1,sothatyoucanproperlyaddupallthediagnosesandnotovercountthem.

AsIsaid,thisisnotexactlynewstuffandbridgetables,ofwhichdiagnosisgroupaboveisoneofthem,areafairly
commondimensionalmodelingconstruct.Theproblemyouhitthoughwhenstartingtousethisfeatureisthatthe
documentationonitisprettyminimal,andonlyreallytalksaboutsettingthisfeatureonthebridgetableitselfand
doesntreallymentionwhattodowiththedimensiontablethathangsoffofit.WhatIlldointhispostingthenisset
outhowIuseit,explainmyrationaleandthereafterinvitesomefeedback,soifsomeoneelsehascomeupwitha
betterideathenwecanworkwiththatinstead.
GoingintoBIAdministratorandlookingatthephysicalmodelforthedatasetabove,itlookslikethis:

withthekeythingherebeingthatthefacttablewevegotthebridgetablejoiningtoboththefactanddiagnosisdim
tablestoformanintersection.Ifyouimportedthismodelintothelogicalbusinesslayerasis,theBIAdministrator
wouldthinktheintersectiontableisthefacttableastheothertablesjointoit.

Sowhatyoudonowisgointothepropertiesforthediagnosistableandindicatethatitsabridgetable,likethis:

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Nowwhenyoulookatthelogicalmodelthefacttableisidentifiedcorrectly.

Ifyoutryandvalidatethemodelnowthough,yougetawarningbecausethediagnosesdimensiontabledoesntlink
throughtothefacttable,asitgoesthroughthebridgetableinstead.

Nownotlinkingthroughtothefacttableissometimesallowed,basicallyinsituationswhereyouvesnowflakedyour
logicalmodelandthedimensiontableisactuallyahigherlevelinthesamedimension,butinthiscaseifwetryand
usethismodelandbringinthediagnosesinformationintoaquery,wellgetametadataconsistencyerror.
Tosolvethis,whatIwoulddoisremovethediagnosisdimensionfromthelogicalmodel,andinsteadaddittothe
logicaltablesourceforthebridgetable,likethis:
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ThenIdaddanycolumnsthatIneededfromthediagnosisdimensionphysicaltableintothebridgetable,whichIcan
donowasIveaddedthedimensiontabletothebridgetableLTS,sothatthisbridgetablenowbecomesmydiagnosis
dimension,likethis:

SowhatIvedonehereistakethedimensiontable,whichbeforelinkedtothebridgetableandthereaftercausedthe
metadatainconsistency,andinsteadaddedittothebridgetablelogicaltablesourceandaddeditscolumnstothe
bridgetablelogicaltable.
IfIrunareportnow,thedatacomesoutasyouwouldexpect,withmultiplediagnosesperpatientandtheweighting
appliedcorrectly.

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HoweverImconsciousthattome,gettingridofthelogicaldimensiontableseemsabitwrong,andothershavesaid
thattheydontusethebridgetablefeatureatall,andinsteadjustcombinethevarioustablesintoasinglelogicaltable
source.Ifanyonesgotanyotherwayofusingbridgetables,addacommenttothispostandwellseewhatthe
consensusis.
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PostedinOracleBISuiteEE|22Comments

Comments
1. MikeNicholsSays:
August29th,2008at12:52am
ThanksMarkforthegreatpost.IhavespentthelastyearrelearningmyDiscovererskillsonOBIandhave
appreciatedyoruposts.LookingforwardtoOpenWorld.Iwonderifyouhavetriedstartingwithaviewthat
prejoinsthebridgetableandthedimensiontable.ThenusetheviewasasourceinOBIEE.HowdoesOBI
handlethistypeofsituation.CurioushowtheSQLcomesout.ThisishowInormallysolvethebridgetablefor
usersanyway.Ifindwouldimporttheviewindiscoverertohidethecomplexityofthebridgefromtheend
users.Whatareyourthoughts?
2. GerardBraatSays:
September2nd,2008at9:15pm
HiMark,Thanksforthepost.Ithinkyoudonotneedtodeletethedimensiontable.ByjustaddingtheDIM
tablealsotoLTSofthebridgebutleavethedimtableinthelogicalmodel,youresolvetheinconsistencyand
leavethemodelintuitiveandintact.However,thepurebridgetablesituationinaDWHstarschemaisslightly
different:Itisadimensionjoiningtoafact,saySALES_REP_DIMtoCOMPENSATION_FACTwhichjoins
viaabridgetoSALES_TEAM.InthiscaseyoucannotaddtheSALES_REPdimensiontothebridgebecauseit
doesnotjointothefactandhencedoesnotsolvetheproblem.THeotherwayaroundisnotallowedsincethe
granularityofthebridgeishigherthanitsatellitedimensions.Ihave,untiltoday,nosolutionforthisproblem.I
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amkeentodiscoverwhattheeffectisintheOBIEEserverengine,ofcheckingtheBridgeTablebox.Tobe
continued
Cheers,
Gerard
3. MarkRittmanSays:
September3rd,2008at10:13am
HIGerard,Mike
Mikethanksforthecomments.IntermsofdefiningaviewoutsideofOBIEE,asyousaythisprobablymakes
thingsaloteasier,howeverforthisinvestigationIwastryingtoseehowOBIEEuseditsbridgetablefeature
hencegivingitago.Asyousaythough,resolvingtheissueinthedatabaselayerpriortomanipulatingitviaBI
Administratorisoftenthesimplestapproach.
GerardIthinkIdidtryaddingthedimtothebridgetableLTSandIgotthesameerror.Illtrythisagainwhen
Igetamomentandseeiftheproblemstilloccurs.Thanksfortheheadsupontheotherbridgetablescenario,if
yougetasolutionthenletmeknow,Illkeepaneyeopenaswellforthis.
4. JohnBroadwaterSays:
September11th,2008at6:18pm
Thesearegreatposts.Veryclearandveryvaluable.Ingeneral,thispostdescribeshowIhaveusedbridgetables
inotherenvironmentsEndusersjustseeasingleviewcombiningthebridgeandthebridgeddimension.
Myquestion:arethereanyfrontendquerytoolssmartenoughtoautomaticallyapplytheweightingfactorto
referencedfactamounts?
5. SammySays:
October24th,2008at9:16am
IthinkthemultivalueddimensionsolutionliketheloopsolutioninBO.Maybethatneedaverymatureand
complexsolutionsupply.
6. SanSays:
November20th,2008at8:25am
HiMark,
ThisisthewayImodeleditanditworkedfineforme.InsteadofusingtheBridgetabletojointothefactthe
wayIdidiintheBMMlayerisiJoinedtheDimension(Diagnoses)totheFacttableandinsidetheLTSof
dimensionImappedthebridgetableastheothersourceanditworksfineformeanditgivsmecorrectresult.
Pleaseadvice.
Regards,
San
7. ParagSays:
March12th,2009at4:38pm
HelloMark,
Thanksforallthepostsandinsights.Theyareextremelyhelpfulinthedesignanddevelopment.
Ihaveaquestion.Wouldthisapproachworkwith2facttables,evenifthereisaconfirmeddimensionbetween
the2.
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Thefactgroupsarejoinedusingthethehierarchiesanddefiningcontentlevelforthefacts,dimensionsand
measures.Butthequeriesarelengthyandlongrunning.
Thanks,
Parag
8. BibudeshSays:
July3rd,2009at5:00am
HiMark,
Ithinkhavingabridgewillbemorebeneficaliftherearetwoormoremultivalueddimensions.Ifitsonlyone
thenitsbettertohaveboththedimensionsinfactitselfandhavetheweightfactorortheproratafactor
maintainedinthefact.Thiswillreducecomplexitywhileauditingtheresultsandendqueries.
Regards
Bibudesh
9. RoySays:
August11th,2010at9:13am
HiMark,
Thisisaverygoodpostandhelpful.CanyoupleasegiveanexampleofPatientAdmissionandDiagnoseswith
somerecordsandshowhowtheylooklikewhenDiagnosesGroupiscreated,too?Iamnotabletounderstand
howtomovethekeysfromthosetwotablestothebirdgetabletoconvertmanytomanyrelationshipintotwo
onetomanyrelationships.
Regards,
Roy.
10. MohammadRafiAnsariSays:
September1st,2010at10:08am
CanyoupleaseshareRPDforTheMysteryofOBIEEBridgeTables.
11. MohammadRafiAnsariSays:
September1st,2010at10:10am
HiMark,
Thisarticleisreallynice.ifpossiblecanyoupleasesendmeTheMysteryofOBIEEBridgeTablesrpdat
rafiansari2002@gmail.comIwillbethankfulltoyou.
Regards
MohammadRafiAnsari
919213626363
12. MarkRittmanSays:
September1st,2010at1:59pm
HiMohammad,
ImafraidIvenotgotitavailablenow,thepostingis>2yearsoldnow,sorry.
Mark
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13. MohammadRafiAnsariSays:
September3rd,2010at5:42am
HiMark,
Thanksforurreply.
ItsokifRPDisnotavailablenowIwilltrytodoitbymyself.WellIneedsomemorehelpfromyourside.
ActuallyIamplanningforOBIEECertificationbutidontknowwhatwillbethepatternforthat.SoIneedyou
precioushelp,ifyoucanarrange/providemeanysoftmaterialoranysamplepaperoforacleforstudy.Sothati
canscoremoreinpaper.
Regards
MohammadRafiAnsari
Email:rafiansari2002@gmail.com
Contact:919213626363
14. JebySays:
September19th,2010at6:52am
HiMark,
Usefularticlethatshowsonemorewayhowtobridgetables.
IwasperforminganupgradefromSiebelanalyticstoOBIEE10.1.3andwehadlotsofconsistencyerrorspost
upgradewhichwerenotvisibleinanalytics.
Theyseemedtobearisingfrombridgetables(althoughtheerrorswereonBMMobjectsnotevenrelatedtothe
bridges).OurOracleconsultantjustdeletedthebridgetablesandalltheerrorsvanished.
Iwasalsosurprisedtoseethatallthebridgeshavingthesourceasfacttables.Canyoupleaseshareyourthougts
onifandwhenyouconsiderafacttabletobehaveasabridge?
15. RobSays:
October6th,2010at7:28pm
Thankyouforsharingyourexpertisethisarticlesavedmequiteabitoffrustration.Isubscribetoandam
impressedbyyourrssfeed,aswell.Rockon!
16. FrankSays:
October14th,2010at3:08pm
ThebridgetableoptionisnotavailableanymorewithOBIEE11g.
Ithasbeenchangedwithaninterestinglookuptableoptionwhichofcourseisnotthesamefonctionnality.
Regards
17. saudSays:
January17th,2012at12:04pm
awesome
18. DSSays:
August28th,2012at10:46pm
MarkyouaretheexpertandIhavebeenstrugglinginthisonething.IwanttomakeaMasterDetailreportto
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workwheremasteriscomingfromoneFacttableanddetailiscomingfromanotherFacttable.However,they
bothsharedcommondimensionsandtheyareinsamesubjectarea.
19. DavidSays:
September10th,2012at7:31pm
Hi,Nicearticleithelpmetounderstandmanythings.IalsohaveaproblemwhichIwantyoutohelpme.This
isjustasimpleexampletoilustratemyquestion.
Facttable:PERSON_ROLE
Dimensionaltables
DIMPERSONPersoncatalog
DIMROLERolebyPerson
{DIM_PERSON_ID,ROLE_Name}
soitislikeabridgeplusdimensional
APersoncanhavemultiplesroles,butintheFacttableimonlyusingoneregisterperperson.
myFacttable{DIM_PERSON_ID,DIM_GROUP_ROLE}
inthissimplecasecouldIusethesamevalueforbothcolumns?oricanbindmytwodimensionstosingle
columnontheFacttable?
Thanks
20. LakshmananSays:
September28th,2012at3:00am
WehaveaBalancedScoreCardwhichshowsKPIfigures.OndrilldownthisshouldshowAccountcategory
figures.
ManytoManyOneKPIreferstomanyAccountcategories.OneAccountcategoryisusedinmanyKPI.
TherearetwowaysofjoininglogicaltableswithabridgetableinOBIEE10g.
Afterjoiningyoucancopyandpastethetablecolumnsintoonetableorletthembeintwotables.
Butthefiguresarecomingwrongaftersuchjoin.Afterstrugglingforonemonth,wegaveup.
TomakethissimplewesimplymergedtheDim_KPIintotheDim_Accountsphysically.Thestructurelooks
funnywith200columnsinDim_AccountsforeachKPI.ButthenthisiswhatOBIEEdoeswithlogicaltables.
Andwedonothavewrongfiguresproblem.
AnditisveryeasytoverifyanaccountbelongstowhichallKPI.
Addinganewaccountiseasyweexportthetabletoanxlsforfinanceguytoaddnewaccountandmention
underwhichallKPIitshouldbereferred.
21. AnirbanSays:
January16th,2013at2:11pm
HiMark,
Thanksverymuchforthepost.Itisreallyveryveryhelpful.JustwantedtoknowifIwanttoimplementthe
bridgetableconceptiOBIEE11.1.1.6,howIcanimplementitasthereisnooptionforBridgetableinOBIEE
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11.1.1.6.
Thanks
Anirban
22. OsamaAbdallahSays:
July2nd,2013at4:16pm
HiMark,
Thankyouforthegreatpost.IbelieveIhaveasolutionforyou.Youcanbypassthebridgetablesolution
altogetherbycreatinganaliastableofthesecondfacttable,andlinkittotheprimaryfacttableinthephysical
layerasonetomany.ThenintheBusinessModelandMappingLayer,youcanmergethealiasfacttable
throughtheLTSwiththeprimaryone.MakesuretocreatethejoinsofthetwotablesintheirLTS.Sonow
youdendupwithonebigfacttable.YoucanthensplitoffthatbigfacttableintotwotablesinthePresentation
Layer.
Ivehadalmostthesameexactscenarioatwork,whereIneededtomergeanothertablewiththemainfacttable.
AndthisistheapproachthatItook.InthePresentationLayer,Ididputitasonefacttable.ButlikeIsaid,you
cansplititintomultipletables.
Idontthinkthebridgeoptionisreliable.Itriedit,anditfrustratedme:).ItsoneofthesethingsthatOracle
sometimesputsouttherethatdontwork.Butthecustomerspayforthemanyway.hehehehehhe.
Takecare,
OsamaAbdallah

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