A cube is a multidimensional data structure that is optimized for analysis and reporting. A cube can exist as part of a data object that contains at least one data set. A BIRT data object can contain many data sets and many cubes. In Report Studio, you use a cube to create a cross tab design.
A cube organizes data into dimensions and measures as follows:
Measures represent values that are counted or aggregated, such as costs or units of products.
Dimensions are categories, such as products, customers, or sales periods, used to aggregate measures. Dimensions can be hierarchical and contain multiple levels. For example, a region dimension can contain a region‑country‑state hierarchy. Similarly, a time dimension can contain a year‑quarter‑month-week hierarchy. Most cubes include a time dimension because, for most reports, showing measures by day, week, month, quarter, or year is essential to analyzing data.
Measures represent values that are counted or aggregated, such as costs or units of products.