Integrating XML data in the TARGIT OLAP system.

This paper presents the results of industrial work on the logical integration of Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML) data sources, carried out in cooperation between TARGIT, a Danish OLAP client vendor, and Aalborg University. A prototype has been developed that allows XML data stored outside the OLAP system to be used as dimensions and measures in the OLAP system in the same way as ordinary dimensions and measures. This provides a powerful and flexible way to handle unexpected or short-term data requirements as well as rapidly changing data. Compared to earlier work, this paper presents several major extensions that resulted from TARGIT'S requirements. These include the ability to use XML data as measures, as well as a novel multigranular data model and query language that formalises and extends the TARGIT data model and query language. Experiments indicate that our approach is often a feasible alternative to physical integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]