In the Physical Column dialog, type a name for the physical column. In the Type field, select a data type for the physical column. Click OK. In the Physical Table dialog, click the Keys tab. In the Keys tab, click New. In the Physical Key dialog, type a n

Working with Physical Tables, Cubes, and Joins 7-13 ■ Creating and Editing a Column in a Physical Table ■ Specifying a Primary Key for a Physical Table ■ Deleting Physical Columns for All Data Sources Creating and Editing a Column in a Physical Table If the column is imported, the properties of the column are set automatically. The following list contains information about nullable and data type values for columns imported into the Physical layer. ■ Nullable. Indicates whether null values are allowed for the column. If null values can exist in the underlying table, you need to select this option. This allows null values to be returned to the user, which is expected with certain functions and with outer joins. It is generally safe to change a non-nullable value to a nullable value in a physical column. ■ Type. Indicates the data type of the column. Use caution when changing the data type. Setting the values to ones that are incorrect in the underlying data source might cause unexpected results. If there are any data type mismatches, correct them in the repository or reimport the columns that have mismatched data types. If you reimport columns, you also need to remap any logical column sources that reference the remapped columns. The data type of a logical column in the business model must match the data type of its physical column source. The Oracle BI Server passes these logical column data types to client applications. Longvarchar and longvarbinary data types are supported for writing complete Logical SQL statements into usage tracking tables for debugging purposes. They are not supported for general-purpose queries, and cannot be displayed in Presentation Services. Use direct SQL utilities to access columns with these data types. Except when stated otherwise, the characteristics and behavior of a physical cube column are the same as for other physical columns. To create or edit a physical column: 1. In the Physical layer of the Administration Tool, perform one of the following steps: – To create a physical column, right-click a physical table and select New Object , then select Physical Column. – To create a physical cube column for a multidimensional data source, right-click a physical cube table and select New Object, then select Physical Cube Column . – To edit an existing physical column, double-click the physical column object in the Physical layer.

2. In the Physical Column dialog, type a name for the physical column.

For XML data sources, this field stores and displays the unqualified name of a column attribute in an XML document. Note: Creating, modifying, or deleting a column in an original physical table also creates, modifies, or deletes the same column on all its alias tables. 7-14 Metadata Repository Builders Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

3. In the Type field, select a data type for the physical column.

4. If applicable, specify the length of the data type. For multidimensional data sources, if you select VARCHAR, you need to type a value in the Length field. 5. Select the Nullable option if the column is allowed to have null values. 6. In the External Name field, type an external name. – Required if the same name such as STATE is used in multiple hierarchies. – Optional for XML documents. The External Name field stores and displays the fully qualified name of a column attribute. 7. Multidimensional data sources When the physical cube column is a measure, in the Aggregation role list, select the appropriate value. A new physical cube column is created as a measure by default. See Working with Multidimensional Sources in the Physical Layer for information about changing this behavior.

8. Click OK.

Specifying a Primary Key for a Physical Table Use the Physical Key dialog to specify the column or columns that define the primary key of the physical table. To specify a primary key for a physical table: 1. In the Physical layer of the Administration Tool, right-click a physical table and select Properties.

2. In the Physical Table dialog, click the Keys tab.

3. In the Keys tab, click New.

4. In the Physical Key dialog, type a name for the key.

5. Select the column that defines the primary key of the physical table.