Types of Attributes

Simple
A simple attribute is made up of one or more expressions. With a simple attribute definition, you can
define an attribute as a column, constant, or simple expression.
Implicit Attributes
An implicit attribute is a virtual or constant attribute that does not physically exist in the database because
it is created at the application level. The implicit attribute has its own expression.
Derived Attributes
A derived attribute has its value determined by an expression which combines two or more columns in a
database to create a new column.
Compound Key Attribute
A compound key attribute is an attribute whose primary key is made up by the combination of two or
more columns.
What is a Implicit Attribute?
An implicit attribute is a virtual or constant attribute that does not physically exist in the database because
it is created at the application level. The implicit attribute has its own expression.
What is a joint child?
A joint child is Microstrategy way of handling Composite Keys. Composite keys are constituted of two or
more columns which together act as unique identifier. To handle this case in Microstrategy we make this
set of columns, constituting composite keys, as joint child.
What are attribute roles?
A user defines two attributes that have the same definition but play different roles in the business model.
In this example, attribute Origin Airport and Destination Airport are defined using the same Lookup Table
and Column (Airport_ID). Both attributes share the same forms, or information about them (Description,
Location, etc.). In the fact table, however, a separate column exists for each of their roles
(Origin_Airport_ID and Destination_Airport_ID).
When should attribute relationships be modeled as separate attributes in a parent-child
relationship and when should they be modeled as forms of the same attribute?
It is preferable to use separate attributes that are related hierarchically (that is, parent-child relationships)
for the following reasons:
Attributes that exist in a hierarchical relationship can appear independently of each other on a report. If
'Item' and 'Item Category' are modeled as separate attributes, reports may then be designed to report on
individual items or whole categories. If 'Item Category' is considered a description (form) of 'Item', it
becomes impossible to report on 'Item Category'.
Attribute forms are not available as metric dimensionality settings. In order to aggregate data at a
particular attribute level, that attribute must exist as an attribute. If the attribute is modeled as an attribute
form instead, it is possible to aggregate only at the level of the attribute containing the form.