newbie: detail object vs dimension objects

[Former Member]

Hello,

Is there a clear rule that an object should be modeled as detail vs dimension? It seems there is no clear cut rule here. I'm looking for some universe design/modeling guides, but I could not find any good documents. If you have any, please share. Thanks.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

HI,

A detail is linked to a dimension.

You cannot use details in hierarchies and therefore drill on details.

By the way, there is no rules defined in the marble that oblige you to create a dimlension or ad detail.

But in general a detail is an attribute or a property of a given dimension.

Generally speaking, the main rule is that there is a one to one relationship betwen the dimension and its details.

For instance Employee dimension may have salary, age, job, department as details.

But in some cases if you want to decide to make an analysis per job or department you can decide to promote them as dimensions, you can also do the same for age.

Regards

Didier

[mplimarthur]

So, dimensions sound more like an entity table on its own. Details are its dependencies. Am I right?