Cognos Transformer Functions

The Cognos® Transformer expression editor supports a common set of mathematical calculations and a few additional Cognos Transformer-specific functions, as explained below.
Note: The Cognos Transformer expression editor is not the same expression editor used in Framework Manager or the IBM® Cognos studios.

When you build an expression, you select elements, one by one, from the Available components list in the left pane of the expression editor and build your expression in the right pane. The available elements vary according to the type of calculation and the position in the expression. Explanations for each element are provided in a Tips window in the expression editor and, as you enter each element, the syntax is evaluated against standard mathematical rules.

Tip: If the Tips box is not visible, click the Tips button Icon.

You can also copy or type your calculation directly into the Expression definition pane.

The supported functions for calculated measures are:

  • absolute

    Returns the absolute value.

  • average

    Returns the average value.

  • min

    Returns the minimum value of selected data items.

  • max

    Returns the maximum value of selected data items.

  • percent

    Returns the percent of the total value for the selected data items.

The supported arithmetic operators are + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division), and ^  (exponentiation).

The Cognos Transformer expression editor also supports if-then-else constructs and brackets. The boolean portion of the if-then-else supports AND, OR, and isnull (a function that tests if a measure value is empty).

For more information about the expression editor, see IBM Cognos Transformer Expression Editor.