Analysis General Principles

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The Analyser works by flowing data through a number of steps, using special operators, each of which performs specific functions:

Analysis properties

Firstly, each analysis has its own properties – a name and description and, optionally, user defined parameters.

Parameters are placeholders, so that, instead of an analysis having to be changed each time it is run to extract the correct data, a parameter is set up.

For example, a parameter called CurrentYear could be defined and used in appropriate places in the analysis, instead of hard coding the actual year. Then, when the analysis is run, the user is prompted to enter the correct year of the data being extracted.

The Source operator

The Source operator provides a raw stream of data from the database, with users applying filters or selection parameters. Each analysis must have a Source operator as the starting point, from which data is piped sequentially to other operators.

Intermediary or advanced operators

Data may be fed into an intermediary operator, these being more advanced operators. Therein the data is manipulated and then piped out, either to another intermediary operator, or to an output operator, eg a Print operator. The five intermediary operators, each of which has a specific function and usage, are:

Formula
Filter
Aggregate
Rank
Expand
Output operators

Every analysis must end with one of the two output operators: a Print operator or Export operator.

 

 

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The Analysis window

The Analysis Explorer

Importing and Exporting analyses

Creating an analysis

Copying analyses and operators

Setting up parameters in analyses

The Source operator

The Print operator

The Export operator

Outputting data

Advanced operators

The Calculation Editor