1 A self-contained application that displays real-time or static data as content‑rich gadgets on a web page. The gadgets display business information or accept user input to change the content of a linked gadget. A dashboard also supports creating new gadgets. BIRT Designer Professional and the dashboard editor in Information Console support designing and displaying dashboards. Actuate JavaScript API (JSAPI) also supports the presentation and linking of Actuate gadgets on a dashboard. Figure G‑2 shows a dashboard.
2 In Metrics Management, an information pane that shows detailed information about a specific measure or location in a view, briefing book, or map. A dashboard can contain data charts, index charts, data tables, and commentary about measure performance.
Figure G‑2 A BIRT dashboard
Related terms
Actuate BIRT Designer Professional, Actuate JavaScript API (JSAPI), briefing book, commentary, Information Console, location, map, measure, Reportlet, view
A BIRT iHub System option that supports viewing data in a dashboard. Dashboards option also supports editing BIRT dashboards on Information Console. Presenting BIRT content in a dashboard also requires a separately purchased BIRT option.
Related terms
BIRT iHub System options, BIRT option, dashboard, data, Information Console
data
Information stored in databases, data objects, flat files, information objects, and other data sources. Dashboards and reports are typical vehicles for presenting structured data.
Related terms
dashboard, data object, data source, flat file, information object, report
data binding
See column binding.
data connection definition (.dcd) file
A file created using the Information Object Design perspective that contains connection properties and security settings for a data source.
Related terms
connection property, data source, file types, Information Object Design perspective
data element
A report item that displays a value from a field in a data set or a computed value.
Related terms
computed value, data set, field, report item
Contrast with
text element
Data Explorer
An Eclipse view that shows the data cubes, data sets, data sources, report parameters, and variables used in a report. Use Data Explorer to create, edit, or delete these report element types.
Related terms
cube, data set, data source, parameter, report, report element
data label
Text that describes a data point in a chart. A data label line connects the data label to its data point.
Related terms
chart, data, data point
data measure
In Metrics Management, a type of measure that contains data. Data can be imported or entered manually into a data measure. Data measures are always at the lowest level of a view structure, and their data is aggregated at higher levels, such as a formula measure or a group measure.
Related terms
data, formula measure, group measure, measure, Metrics Management, view
data object
A predesigned data specification created from cube and data set definitions. A developer uses BIRT Designer Professional to create a data object. Interactive Crosstabs consume data from a data object. Use of a data object in Report Studio conceals underlying data complexity from business users.
Related terms
Actuate BIRT Designer Professional, cube, data set, Interactive Crosstabs
Contrast with
data object design (.datadesign) file, data object store (.data) file, information object
data object design (.datadesign) file
An XML (Extensible Markup Language) file that contains the definition of a data object.
Related terms
data object, file types
data object store
A snapshot of data output from a BIRT data object design (.datadesign) file.
Related terms
data object design (.datadesign) file, file types
Contrast with
data object store (.data) file
data object store (.data) file
A file that contains a data object store as a persistent data repository.
Related terms
data, data object store, file types, repository
data point
A point on a chart that corresponds to a particular pair of x- and y-axis values.
Related term
chart
Contrast with
data row, data set
data row
One row of data returned by a data set.
Related terms
data, data set, row
Contrast with
data point, data source
DataService
An Actuate JavaScript API class that connects to an Actuate web application service to retrieve data from BIRT reports.
Related terms
Actuate JavaScript API (JSAPI), data, report
data set
A data row definition, which is a collection of data fields retrieved or computed from a data source. A data set provides data rows to a report.
Related terms
data, data row, data source
Contrast with
data element, data point
data set parameter
A parameter associated with a data set column that restricts the number of data rows that a data set supplies.
Related terms
column, data row, data set, parameter
Contrast with
report parameter
data source
A relational database or other data repository. For example, a data object, a flat file, an information object, a Java application, or an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file can be a data source. This data source provides data rows to a report or a gadget on a dashboard through a data source element.
Related terms
dashboard, data, data object, data row, data source element, flat file, gadget design (.gadget) file, information object, report
Contrast with
data set
data source element
An item containing connection information for a data source.
Related terms
connection, data source
Contrast with
data set
data source map (.sma) file
A file that contains a representation of a database table, a database view, or a query written in the database’s native SQL (Structured Query Language). A developer uses BIRT Designer Professional to create an information object from a data source map.
Related terms
Actuate BIRT Designer Professional, data source, file types, information object, table, view
Contrast with
Actuate SQL
data store
A data repository. BIRT iHub uses a third-party RDBMS, such as PostgreSQL or Oracle, as a data store for BIRT iHub System and volume metadata.
Related terms
Actuate BIRT iHub, data, repository, volume
data type
The structure of a value that constrains its characteristics, such as the information the values can hold and permitted operations.
1 Internal data types used by BIRT include Date, Double, Integer, Time, Timestamp, and Varchar. These data types map to the Java constants declared in Java.sql.Types, such as DATE, DOUBLE, INT, and STRING. BIRT maps the data types from supported data sources to these internal data types. BIRT provides the external data types, date-and-time, number, and string data types, to format values in a report.
2 Data types in Actuate SQL include Decimal, Double, Integer, Timestamp, and Varchar. Actuate SQL data types map to data types in supported databases.
Related terms
Actuate SQL, data source, date-and-time data type, Decimal data type, Integer data type, Timestamp data type
DataMart
In Metrics Management, a specialized data warehouse. A DataMart contains a snapshot of data for export to a Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle relational database format for external reporting and analysis purposes.
Related term
Metrics Management
date-and-time data type
A data type used in a report item to display date, date-and-time, or time values. The appearance of these values depends on locale and format settings specified by your computer and the report design.
Related terms
data type, design, locale, report, report item
Contrast with
Timestamp data type
Decimal data type
An Actuate SQL data type that includes fixed-point numbers consisting of up to 100 digits.
Related terms
Actuate SQL, data type
Contrast with
Integer data type
delete privilege
See privilege.
deploy
To bundle and distribute a software package, such as an Eclipse plug‑in or a web application, to a run‑time environment.
Related terms
Eclipse, plug‑in, run time
design
A dashboard or report specification or the act of creating such a specification. The design process includes selecting data, laying out content visually, and saving that layout. A developer creates and edits a design using BIRT Designer Professional, the dashboard editor, or Report Studio.
Related terms
Actuate BIRT Designer Professional, dashboard, data, layout, report, Report Studio
design time
The period of time in which a developer creates a design specification.
Related term
design
Contrast with
run time
dimension
A category containing measures. For example, in a cube, a sales dimension includes average price and total units of products. BIRT Designer Professional, Interactive Crosstabs, and Report Studio support defining and using dimensions.
An alternative name for a chart series, report parameter, table column, or user‑defined Report Object Model (ROM) property. This name can contain any character. For example, BIRT Designer Professional displays this alternative name as a column heading in a report.
Related terms
Actuate BIRT Designer Professional, column, property, report, Report Object Model (ROM), report parameter, series
Contrast with
alias
display range
The time period for which Metrics Management displays data and information.
Related terms
data, Metrics Management
Distribution service
See Message Distribution service.
document type definition (DTD)
A set of Extensible Markup Language (XML) elements and attributes that defines a schema describing the structure of an XML document.
Contrast with
structured content
drill down
In Metrics Management, the ability to choose a measure or location box in a view or section to reveal the submeasures and sublocations below it in the hierarchy.
An interface that supports communication between an application and another application, such as a database. For example, BIRT iHub uses drivers to communicate with third-party programs. Actuate products use Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) drivers to communicate with databases.
A parameter associated with a database column that creates an expression to extend the query’s WHERE clause dynamically. The tools that support dynamic filter parameters are BIRT Designer Professional and Information Console. For example, in Figure G‑3, the values in the first dynamic filter parameter translate to the following SQL (Structured Query Language) expression:
WHERE PRODUCTLINE IN ('Planes','Trains')
Figure G‑3 Dynamic filter parameters
Related terms
Actuate BIRT Designer Professional, Information Console, parameter
Contrast with
static parameter
dynamic text element
A report item that adjusts its size to display varying amounts of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) or plain text.
