What is the OLAP DML?

An analytic workspace is stored in the database as LOBs in a table named AW$workspacename. The OLAP DML is a dimensionally-aware procedural programming language that directly manipulates the data in these LOBs. The OLAP DML does not make, need, or update any relational views of the $AW table or any OLAP tool metadata.

Purpose of the OLAP DML

The purpose of the OLAP DML is to enable application developers to create programs that use Oracle OLAP to:

Analyze data without using the Oracle OLAP tools.
Extend the analytical capabilities of SQL, the OLAP Analytic Workspace API for Java, and the OLAP API for Java.(See Oracle OLAP Reference, Oracle OLAP Analytic Workspace Java API Reference, and Oracle OLAP Java API Reference, for more information.)

OLAP DML is Both a Data Definition Language and a Data Manipulation Language

The OLAP DML is both a data definition language and a data manipulation language:

You use OLAP DML, itself, to create and modify analytic workspace and analytic workspace object definitions that the OLAP DML needs to execute. (See "Creating New Workspaces and Objects" and "Working with Previously-Defined Analytic Workspaces" for more information.)
The real power of the OLAP DML lies in its analytic powers. Using the OLAP DML you can:
- Define special OLAP DML objects that specify complex calculations. (See "Creating Calculation Specifications" for a general discussion of this process.)
- Write programs to perform complex analysis.You can write a OLAP DML programs to perform almost any type of complicated multidimensional analysis. For general information on creating an OLAP DML program, see Chapter 7, "Programs". For overview information on creating common types of OLAP DML programs, see "Common Types of OLAP DML Programs".