Data that the Cognos TM1 connector writes

By using the Cognos TM1 connector, you can write data into cube cells and create a dimension with the elements that are specified in the input data.

Note: Creating a dimension is only possible on TM1 server version 10.2.x by using legacy Java API connection.

Writing to cube

When you write data into cells of a cube that has N dimensions, the input data for the Cognos TM1 connector must have a minimum of N+1 columns. For example, if the target cube has three dimensions, Budget version, Product, and Price and Cost, then the input data for the Cognos TM1 connector must have four or more columns, as shown in the following table.

Table 1. Example of input data with all dimension elements
DSCOL1 (Budget version)	DSCOL2 (Product)	DSCOL3 (Price and Cost)	DSCOL4 (Cell value)
Version1	P1	Price	654000
Version1	P2	Price	558000
Version1	P3	Price	612000
Version1	P1	Cost	322000
Version1	P2	Cost	118000
Version1	P3	Cost	429000

The fourth column has values for the cell that is identified by the element names in the first three columns. For example, in the first row, the value 654000 is written to the cell where Budget version = Version1, Product = P1, and Price and Cost = Price.

Creating a dimension

The input records must have one column that contains element names for creating a new dimension.

To create a dimension with elements that are organized into a hierarchy, the input records must have two or more columns. One column has the element name, and one column has the parent element name. When an element does not have a parent element, the parent name can be null or a string with a length of zero. In the following table, the Category1 and Category2 elements do not have parent elements.

Table 2. Example of input data with parent elements
DSCOL1 (Element name)	DSCOL2 (Parent name)
Category1
AAA	Category1
BBB	Category1
CCC	Category1
Category2
DDD	Category2
EEE	Category2

You can also specify the element type, weight, and element attributes in the input data. If these properties are not specified, a default value is used. By default, the element type is N (Numeric) when the element has no children and C (Consolidated) when the element has a child. The default weight is 1.

Table 3. Example of input data with element types and weights
DSCOL1 (Element name)	DSCOL2 (Parent name)	DSCOL3 (Element type)	DSCOL4 (Weight)	DSCOL6 (Alias attribute ‘SmallChar’)
Category1		C		category1
AAA	Category1	N	1	aaa
BBB	Category1	N	-1	bbb
CCC		S	2	ccc
DDD	Category1	S	1	ddd

Dimension that is created with input data that includes the element type, weight, and an additional element attribute. — Figure 1. Dimension created with input data that includes the element type, weight, and an additional element attribute

Element insertion order

Cognos TM1 assigns an index to each element of a dimension. This index is used to determine the default order of elements when the elements are shown in the IBM Cognos TM1 user interface. The Cognos TM1 connector inserts elements into the dimension in the order from the input records. Therefore, if you want the elements to be indexed in a particular order, sort the input records.