What is the best way to sum up multiple members in default logic and store the results in a separate member?
This is easy for the Account dimension since all Accounts are automatically included in default logic, but what about for other dimensions?
For example, let's say we have a user-defined dimension EXAMPLEDIM, and we want to sum up MEMBER1, MEMBER2, and MEMBER3 and store the results in MEMBERX. We want this to work in default logic so that the values are summed whenever someone submits a record to any of the 3 members. Seems simple enough, right?
At first, one would think this could work:
*WHEN EXAMPLEDIM
*IS MEMBER1, MEMBER2, MEMBER3
*REC( EXPRESSION=%VALUE%, EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBERX")
*ENDWHEN
The problem with this is that if a user were to enter a value of 100 into MEMBER1, then a value of 100 would be written to MEMBERX, regardless of whether or not MEMBER2 and MEMBER3 contain a preexisting value.
Okay, so we can preface this with some scoping, right?
*XDIM_MEMBERSET EXAMPLEDIM = MEMBER1, MEMBER2, MEMBER3
While that would work, it would lead to this calculation being performed every time someone triggers default logic. One can imagine how this would degrade the performance of a Model if many such calculations were being performed in default.
Another approach would be to write a separate REC statement for each member like this:
*WHEN EXAMPLEDIM
*IS MEMBER1
*REC( EXPRESSION=%VALUE% + GET(EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBER2") + GET(EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBER3"), EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBERX")
*IS MEMBER2
*REC( EXPRESSION=%VALUE% + GET(EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBER1") + GET(EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBER3"), EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBERX")
*IS MEMBER3
*REC( EXPRESSION=%VALUE% + GET(EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBER1") + GET(EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBER1"), EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBERX")
*ENDWHEN
But this could lead to doubling of data if the user were to submit values to more than one of these members at a time. Plus, can you imagine trying to maintain this for more than a handful of members?
Likewise, we could try referencing the destination member in our expression:
*WHEN EXAMPLEDIM
*IS MEMBER1, MEMBER2, MEMBER3
*REC( EXPRESSION=%VALUE% + GET(EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBERX"), EXAMPLEDIM="MEMBERX")
*ENDWHEN
But this could lead to the same doubling problem if the user submits a record to more than one of the source members.
Do you have any ideas? Note that we cannot use a hierarchy or dimension logic since the requirement is to calculate and store the results, since hierarchies and calculated members can often change.
Thanks!
Alex