Query Element (XMLA)

Contains a query within the Queries collection used by the DesignAggregations command during usage-based optimization.

Syntax

<Queries>
   ...
   <Query>...</Query>
   ...
</Queries>

Element Characteristics

Characteristic

Description

Data type and length

String

Default value

None

Cardinality

0-1: Optional element that can occur once and only once.

Element Relationships

Relationship

Element

Parent elements

Queries

Child elements

None

Remarks

The DesignAggregations command supports usage-based optimization by including one or more Query elements in the Queries collection of the command. Each Query element represents a goal query that the design process uses to define aggregations that target the most frequently used queries. You can either specify your own goal queries, or you can use the information stored by an instance of Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services in the query log to retrieve information about the most frequently used queries.

If you are iteratively designing aggregations, you only have to pass goal queries in the first DesignAggregations command because the Analysis Services instance stores these goal queries and uses these queries during subsequent DesignAggregations commands. After you pass goal queries in the first DesignAggregations command of an iterative process, any subsequent DesignAggregations command that contains goal queries in the Queries property generates an error.

The Query element contains a comma-delimited value that contains the following arguments:

Frequency,Dataset[,Dataset...]

  • Frequency
    A weighting factor that corresponds to the number of times that the query has previously been executed. If the Query element represents a new query, the Frequency value represents the weighting factor used by the design process to evaluate the query. As the frequency value becomes larger, the weight that is put on the query during the design process increases.

  • Dataset
    A numeric string that specifies which attributes from a dimension are to be included in the query. This string must have the same number of characters as the number of attributes in the dimension. Zero (0) indicates that the attribute in the specified ordinal position is not included in the query for the specified dimension, while one (1) indicates that the attribute in the specified ordinal position is included in the query for the specified dimension.

    For example, the string "011" would refer to a query involving a dimension with three attributes, from which the second and third attributes are included in the query.

    Note

    Some attributes are excluded from consideration in the dataset. For more information about excluded attributes, see Query Element (XMLA).

    Each dimension in the measure group that contains the aggregation design is represented by a Dataset value in the Query element. The order of Dataset values must match the order of dimensions included in the measure group.