MDX Tools

it-workplace have released an mdx query building tool:

http://www.it-workplace.co.uk/IOCOverview.aspx

Being built on adomd.net it won't work with TM1 but i think it shows the increasing demand for mdx tools in the market place.

I built a tool for showing the mdx equivilant statement for tm1 views in my open source toolkit found here:

http://forums.applix.com/forum/tm.asp?m=10617

or

http://www.bihints.com/tm1_sdk

and I was wondering if people found these mdx tools useful and whether further tools would benefit people.

MDX, Dynamic Subsets and Server Crashes - Update

This issue has been fixed in V9 SP3 and so definately worth upgrading if you use MDX and V9 SP2.

MDX, Dynamic Subsets and Server Crashes

I recently got asked to look at a site that was experiencing TM1 server crashes.
I had a look and found that on an MDX report that ran in Excel, it was referencing a dynamic subset. This dynamic subset was producing empty results due to changes in their structure.

Essentially whenever they ran this Excel MDX report it would crash the server instantly. As soon as I fixed the Dynamic Subset, the MDX report worked fine and the server is stable again.

I guess the lesson is to check that your dynamic subsets are never producing empty results.

MDX Usage Poll

MDX Intro PDF

The link below is for a chapter sampler of Chriss Webb's new MDX book. The sampler is a really useful intro for people interested in learning mdx.

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471748080.html

http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/80/04717480/0471748080.pdf

MDX

MDX combined with TM1 is a very powerful solution.
MDX may seem complicated to begin with but in fact the basics are pretty easy to get your head around. The best places to start are:

http://www.mosha.com/msolap/mdx.htm

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/olapdmad/agmdxbasics_04qg.asp
If anyone wants to learn more about how to use MDX with TM1 then drop me an email at james.wakefield@cortellgroup.com