BI Server Metadata Services

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Last updated: Nov 10, 2011 by Former user (Deleted)Version comment

Note: this page documents the metadata services originally created for WAQR - (Web-based Ad-hoc Query Reporting). It has been announced that WAQR will not be actively maintained anymore. This means it is less than ideal to base any new applications on this service. However, there is an alternative service to access metadata: the Common UI Metadata Service.

To access the Metadata layer with a web service call, you can use the following URLs:

  • /pentaho/AdhocWebService?component=listbusinessmodels
  • /pentaho/AdhocWebService?component=getbusinessmodel&domain=<domain-id>&model=<model-id>

Both services can be accessed with either the POST or the GET method.

The listbusinessmodels call allows the caller to discover the available metadata models. It returns an XML document with the following structure:

  • <metadata> - generic document element.
    • <models> - container for individual model elements
      • <model> - element that represents a single metadata model. Models parent element can contain multiple <model> elements.
        • <domain_id> - text element that identifies the .xmi file in which this model resides. Sample value: steel-wheels/metadata.xmi
        • <model_id> - technical identifier for this model.
        • <model_name> - A human readable name for this model
        • <model_description> - A short human readable text describing the purpose and content of this model.

The getbusinessmodel call offers insight in the contents of a specific model. The request parameters domain and model should be used to specify a particular model to inspect. Values for the domain and model parameters can be obtained from the <domain_id> and <model_id> elements occurring in any of the <model> elements returned by a call to the listbusinessmodels service (described above). The service returns an XML document with the following structure:

  • <metadata> - generic document element
    • <model> - container for all model content
      • <domain_id> - text element that identifies the .xmi file in which this model resides.
      • <model_id> - technical identifier for this model.
      • <model_name> - A human readable name for this model
      • <model_description> - A short human readable text describing the purpose and content of this model.
      • <view> - This represents a Business Category: a bucket filled with business columns. A model can contain multiple <view> elements.
        • <view_id> - Technical identifier for the view
        • <view_name> - Human readable name for this view
        • <view_description> - short human readable description of this view.
        • <column> - This represents a business column. A <view> element can contain multiple <column> elements.
          • <column_id> - The technical identifier for this column
          • <column_name> - A human readable name for this column
          • <column_description> - A short human readable description of this column
          • <column_field_type> - A value indicating whether this is a metric or a dimension member
          • <column_type> - The data type for any values returned for this column. Possible values: String, Numeric