Date Dimensions Part 2

This is the second and last part of the date dimension series. In the first article we discussed how we can add the same dimension into the same cube several times as different names (role play dimension), the advantages and disadvantages of creating several named queries from the same date dimension table, the considerations around the unknown member in the date dimension, and the date hierarchies.

In this article we will discuss:

1. A date dimension that is used as a reference dimension
2. A date dimension that is generated and stored on the SSAS server (no physical table)
3. Advantages and disadvantages of using smart date key e.g. YYYYMMDD
4. Enabling users to select a date (or month) to be used in calculated measure using 'from date' and 'to date'
5. Other topics about date dimension in SSAS