July 2002 - Volume 1, Issue 16

IN THIS ISSUE

Featured Article: Peak to Trough Changes   

• The Power of Abstraction - Part 2 of a series on abstraction   
• Physical Modeling   
• A Simplified Approach to Information Stewardship   
• So What Normal Form is the Dimensional Data Model Anyway?   
• Configuration Variable Capture Using Java and XML   

• Peak to Trough Changes   
  

  Despite extraordinary swings in overall sales and market share standings since the end of 1999, leadership within the query and reporting (Q&R) segment of the business intelligence (BI) market remains unchanged.
• The Power of Abstraction - Part 2 of a series on abstraction   
  

  The first article explained what abstraction is, the second article explained when to use abstraction, and this article will discuss where to use abstraction. This article starts off discussing the two conditions that need to be present to make abstraction effective. Then we will discuss four applications that can meet these two conditions and therefore make excellent candidates for abstraction.
• Physical Modeling   
  

  Physical modeling involves transforming the logical model from a purely business design to a design optimized to run in a particular environment.
• A Simplified Approach to Information Stewardship   
  

  Accountability is a scary word. Being accountable for something means that you are responsible for making certain that it is of high quality and that it positively impacts the business. Webster's dictionary uses a single word to define accountability; answerable. It does not matter the substance of the something. You are the person.
• So What Normal Form is the Dimensional Data Model Anyway?   
  

  We have all read or heard a dimensional data model being described as de-normalized. That statement seems pretty vague especially if one cares to know what normal form is the dimensional data model? Dimensional data models come in different schema's star, snow flake or variants of those. On top of that we have two specific types of entities Fact and Dimension. Given all this information how does one go about determining what normal form is a dimensional data model anyway?
• Configuration Variable Capture Using Java and XML   
  

  In this article, a case is made for the capture of configuration variable data using XML, to facilitate application Systems Integration and Deployment. An XML based approach for managing configuration variables, and the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach are discussed, with the help of simple example implementations using Java and XML.