HP Storage Essentials Storage Resource Management Report Optimizer Software 6.0 Performing On-Report Analysis with Web Intelligence (August 2008)

Creating Custom Calculations204
Specifying dimensions in input and output contexts
Input and output contexts consist of lists of dimensions. These lists must always be enclosed
in parentheses, even if the list contains only one dimension. For example, a context must
be specified as (
[Year];Quarter]) or ([Year]).
Example: Specifying an input context
In the examples given in ”What are calculation contexts?” on page 198, the input contexts
consist of (Year) and (Year, Quarter) respectively. That is, in the first example, Web
Intelligence calculates revenue by year. In the second example it calculates revenue by
year by quarter. When specified explicitly in a formula, the input context looks like this:
Sum ([Sales revenue] In ([Year];[Quarter]))
That is, the dimensions in the input context appear inside the parentheses of the function (in
this case, Sum) whose input context you are specifying.
For an explanation of the In operator that appears in this formula, see ”The In context
operator” on page 208
What is an output context?
A formula’s output context causes the formula to output a value is if it were placed in the
footer of a block containing a break. Think of an output context as a “break” in a formula.
Example: Specifying an output context
Look at the following report, which shows revenue by year and quarter, with a break on
year, and the minimum revenue calculated by year.