MDL usage

Although most users find it easier to create and maintain their Cognos® Transformer models and cubes from the user interface, there are situations where an experienced Cognos Transformer modeler will benefit from using MDL.

The following are some of the ways you can use MDL, beginning with basic operations and progressing to more advanced applications:

  • You can save your Cognos Transformer model as an .mdl file by selecting Save As from the File menu, changing the extension of the file to .mdl, and then saving the file. You can then use the .mdl file to open the model in subsequent versions of Cognos Transformer, move models between various production servers and platforms, or archive Cognos Transformer models.

    Models stored as .mdl files are compact, and because they can be opened in subsequent versions of Cognos Transformer, you need not worry about updating them.

    You can also use an .mdl file to improve the performance of Cognos Transformer models.

    Saving a .py? file in .mdl format integrates all of the changes made since the last MDL save into a clean model. It also prevents possible corruption of the model.

  • You can open as an .mdl file in any text editor to perform global edits, such as changing all directory paths from C:\ to D:\ or changing all instances of "Years" to "Yrs".
  • You can write scripts in MDL to manipulate Cognos Transformer models.

    For example, you can store repetitive tasks in an MDL batch file that can be run any time.

  • You can use a text editor to work directly in .mdl files with Cognos Transformer models.

    For example, you can change a model on a UNIX server, create models as needed, and store parts or all of the resulting models in separate files.

  • You can create custom Cognos Transformer applications.

Because MDL is an interpreted language, you can process .mdl files in any of the following ways:

  • Open the .mdl file on the Cognos Transformer user interface.
  • Run the .mdl file from the Windows command line using cogtr.exe.
  • Access the .mdl file on a UNIX server, using the command line option -m.