Introduction to Oracle Discoverer

Chapter 2

Copyright 2001 California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

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Introduction to Oracle Discoverer

Chapter Objectives
At the end of this chapter, the student will be able to: Understand the various Discoverer components and their use Understand the Caltech data warehouse environment

Copyright 2001 California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

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Introduction to Oracle Discoverer 06/25/01

Discoverer Components
Overview
Oracle Discoverer is an ad hoc query tool that operates in the Caltech data warehouse environment. Discoverers desktop-reporting features provide users the ability to generate financial reports and analyze financial information easily and quickly. Discoverer has three main components: User Edition: the end user component; it provides the graphical interface utilized by users on a day-to-day basis to generate reports and analyze data. Administration Edition: the administrator component; it is the tool used to design and present the hierarchy of financial data known as the business area which is accessed by users from the User Edition. End User Layer (EUL): the metalayer that shields users from the complexity of the relational database from which Discoverer retrieves data. Conceptually, the EUL resides between the database dictionary (table definitions) and the User Edition. Physically, it is comprised of a number of database tables and views organized into business areas (i.e., Finance, Human Resources, etc.) Figure 1.0 illustrates how the three Discoverer components are integrated.

Copyright 2001 California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

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Introduction to Oracle Discoverer 06/25/01

User Edition
The Oracle Discoverer User Edition is an easy-to-use, read-only data access tool. It provides logical and intuitive access to financial information in the data warehouse.

Administration Edition
The Administration Edition builds and maintains the End User Layer. Its design determines how users access and view data. This is where the administrators define the business areas used by the User Edition.

End User Layer (EUL)

The End User Layer insulates the user from the complexity of the database. It provides an intuitive, business-focused view of the database that can be tailored to suit each user or user group. The EUL generates SQL statements on the client and communicates with the database using SQL*Net. When a user selects objects from the business area, the EUL generates the appropriate SQL statements that define the selections from a table, view, or column. When a user executes a query, the EUL executes that SQL statement and sends it to the database, which in turn sends the results to the User Edition interface. Thus, the user does not have to understand SQL to access and retrieve data. It is all handled by the EUL.

Copyright 2001 California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

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Introduction to Oracle Discoverer 06/25/01

The Data Warehouse Environment

Overview
Caltechs data warehouse environment is comprised of WEBSTER, Discoverer, and two read-only relational databases. However, WEBSTER and Discoverer do not store data. The tables, views, and columns from which WEBSTER and Discoverer retrieve information, are stored and housed in the Express and RDBMS databases. These databases are generally updated from OGM information on a nightly basis. Figure 1.1 illustrates how the data warehouse environment integrates with the Oracle Financial applications.

The Application login and System Status link from the Caltech Support provides a detailed explanation of how up-to-date the information is in WEBSTER and Discoverer each day.

Copyright 2001 California Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

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Introduction to Oracle Discoverer 06/25/01

The Application Login and System Status Page

1. Open the Caltech Support page from the following URL: caltech.support@caltech.edu. Select the Application Login and System Status link.

2.

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Introduction to Oracle Discoverer 06/25/01