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Semantic Catalog

A Semantic Catalog is a collection of connections, facts, dimensions, and models focused on a specific data warehousing or business analysis subject area.

On the file system, it is implemented as a directory of connection, fact, dimension, and model sub-directories.

TBD: The directory contains a file called catalog.yaml at the root level. The file specifies all catalog-level definitions, such as the catalog name and settings for building the database and client semantic layers.

MM represents a Semantic Catalog using a Semantic Catalog custom model. You can define multiple Semantic Catalogs in MM. They are independent of each other. Still, you can copy components, like connections, facts, dimensions, and models, between catalogs. For example, you can import multiple catalogs from different BI systems and combine them into a catalog uniting their common characteristics.

The application repository

Model files define MSL models. In MSL, a model is a metadata layer that overlays a multi-dimensional model format on top of the source tables/views stored in a connected database. A model has a fact semantic table and defines joins with its dimension semantic tables. It can have multiple perspectives that can be deployed to the database and business intelligence semantic layers.

Example:

- name: TPC-H
  definition: TPC-H demo catalog

  default_connection: Snowflake TPC-H

Entity Relationships

Catalog 

---
config:
    class:
        hideEmptyMembersBox: true
---
classDiagram
`Semantic Catalog` *-- `Semantic Connection`: connections
`Semantic Catalog` *-- `Semantic Table`:tables
`Semantic Catalog` *-- `Semantic Model`: models

class `Semantic Catalog` {
    Array~Semantic Connection~ connections
    Array~Semantic Table~ tables
    Array~Model~ models

    String default_connection [1..1]
}

`MSL Object` <|-- `Semantic Catalog`

class `MSL Object` {
    <<interface>>
    String name [1..1]
    String description
    String objectID
}

Model Properties in Catalog

default_connection

  • Type: String
  • Required: Yes

The name of the default database connection that models use unless they overwrite it.