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DEFINE

The DEFINE command adds a new object to the analytic workspace. This entry describes the DEFINE command in general. The following entries discuss the use of the DEFINE command for creating specific types of object:

Syntax

DEFINE name object-type attributes [AW workspace] [SESSION]

Parameters

name

A TEXT expression that is the name for the new object. Follow these guidelines when specifying a value for name:

  • The name must consist of 1 to 64 characters. When you are using a multibyte character set, you can still specify 64 characters even when this requires more than 64 bytes. Each character may be a letter (A-Z), a number (0-9), an underline (_), or a dot (.). However, the following restrictions apply to the use of these characters:

    • The name cannot consist of a single dot (.) character or a single underscore (_) character.

    • The name cannot duplicate a reserved word. For more information on identifying reserved words, see the RESERVED function.

    • The first character in the name cannot be a number.

    • The first character cannot be a dot (.) when the second character is a number.

  • By default Oracle OLAP creates the definition in the current workspace. To create the definition in a different attached workspace, you can specify a qualified object name for name or you can use the AW argument to specify the workspace. Do not use both.


Caution:

Oracle OLAP does not warn you when you create an object that has the same name as an existing object in another attached workspace.

object-type

The type of object being defined. The default is VARIABLE. The object types are discussed in the subsections for the DEFINE command.

attributes

Attributes are different for each type of object. The attributes are listed in the entry for each object type.

AW workspace

The name of an attached workspace in which you want to define the object. You can also specify a noncurrent attached workspace using a qualified object name for name. Do not use this phrase when qualified object name for name.

SESSION

Specifies that the object exists only in the current session. The object is created in the EXPRESS analytic workspace to which you have read-only access. When you close the current session, the object no longer exists.

Usage Notes

Triggering Program Execution When DEFINE Executes

Using a TRIGGER_DEFINE program, you can make the DEFINE command an event that automatically executes an OLAP DML program. See "Trigger Programs" for more information.

Effect of DEFINE on the Status of the NAME Dimension

When you execute a DEFINE command with the NAME dimension limited to less than all its values, the status of NAME is automatically limited to ALL.

Viewing Session Objects

Objects created with the SESSION keyword are stored in the analytic workspace named EXPRESS instead of the current analytic workspace. Therefore, statements that operate against the current analytic workspace (such as LISTNAMES) do not list session objects unless you do one of the following: