Create Universe or not to

[Former Member]

Hi All,

We are new to BOBJ and have an ongoing debate right now. There is the mindset of some to create a universe no matter and others that say not to. For example, have an Xcel dash on a Universe layer and then no Universe layer.

Problem is we cannot find specifically why you should or should not have a universe. What is pros and cons of not having a Universe.

Can someone please clarify this imporant point. We searched SDN and there is much information about universe and creating, but can't find specifically why you should.

Thanks!

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Universe is a semantic layer to shield the complexity of database from the users. The meta data on the universe are usually in the layman terms that the users can understand easily, which is important from the users' point of view. Furthermore, all SQL problem like Cartesian should have been ironed out in the universe. So the users do not have to worry about erroneous data due to bad SQL statement. You also will have maintenance difficulty if you are simply embedding SQL in your presentation tools. Because every time when there is a change on the database side, you might have to modify every single report that is being affected.

In my humble opinion, all presentation tools (whether it is WebI or Crystal or Xcelsius) should be using universe as much as possible.