Semantic layer

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A semantic layer is a business representation of corporate data that helps end users access data autonomously using common business terms managed through Business semantics management. A semantic layer maps complex data into familiar business terms such as product, customer, or revenue to offer a unified, consolidated view of data across the organization.

By using common business terms, rather than data language, to access, manipulate, and organize information, a semantic layer simplifies the complexity of business data. Business terms are stored as objects in a semantic layer, which are accessed through business views.

On May 29, 1992, Business Objects obtained U.S. Patent 5,555,403, which "provides a new data representation and a query technique which allows information system end users to access (query) relational databases without knowing the relational structure or the structure query language (SQL)". [1] Over time, some competitors like Cognos paid licensing fees. [2] However, in 2003, Microstrategy successfully defended a brought suit by Business Objects alleging patent infringement. [3]

The semantic layer enables business users to have a common "look and feel" when accessing and analyzing data stored in relational databases and OLAP cubes. This is claimed to be core business intelligence (BI) technology that frees users from IT while ensuring correct results.

Business Views is a multi-tier system that is designed to enable companies to build comprehensive and specific business objects that help report designers and end users access the information they require. Business Views is intended to enable people to add the necessary business context to their data islands and link them into a single organized Business View for their organization.

Semantic layer maps tables to classes and rows to objects.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semantic data model</span> Database model

A semantic data model (SDM) is a high-level semantics-based database description and structuring formalism for databases. This database model is designed to capture more of the meaning of an application environment than is possible with contemporary database models. An SDM specification describes a database in terms of the kinds of entities that exist in the application environment, the classifications and groupings of those entities, and the structural interconnections among them. SDM provides a collection of high-level modeling primitives to capture the semantics of an application environment. By accommodating derived information in a database structural specification, SDM allows the same information to be viewed in several ways; this makes it possible to directly accommodate the variety of needs and processing requirements typically present in database applications. The design of the present SDM is based on our experience in using a preliminary version of it. SDM is designed to enhance the effectiveness and usability of database systems. An SDM database description can serve as a formal specification and documentation tool for a database; it can provide a basis for supporting a variety of powerful user interface facilities, it can serve as a conceptual database model in the database design process; and, it can be used as the database model for a new kind of database management system.

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The following is provided as an overview of and topical guide to databases:

References

  1. "Relational database access system using semantically dynamic objects". Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  2. "COGNOS INC - 10-K Annual Report - 02/28/2003". Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  3. "Court dismisses patent infringement suit". 2 September 2003. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.