Oracle® Essbase API Reference Release 12.2.1.0.0 Essbase API Reference, 12.2.1.0.0 Copyright © 1996, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Authors: EPM Information Development Team This software and related documentation are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except as expressly permitted in your license agreement or allowed by law, you may not use, copy, reproduce, translate, broadcast, modify, license, transmit, distribute, exhibit, perform, publish, or display any part, in any form, or by any means. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of this software, unless required by law for interoperability, is prohibited. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is not warranted to be error-free. If you find any errors, please report them to us in writing. 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This software or hardware and documentation may provide access to or information about content, products, and services from third parties. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind with respect to third-party content, products, and services unless otherwise set forth in an applicable agreement between you and Oracle. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to your access to or use of third-party content, products, or services, except as set forth in an applicable agreement between you and Oracle. Contents Documentation Accessibility .......................................................... 17 Documentation Feedback ............................................................ 19 Part I. Preliminary Information ......................................................... 21 Chapter 1. Introduction to the Oracle Essbase API Reference .................................... 23 Essbase API Overview .................................................. 23 What's in This Document ............................................... 24 What You Should Know Before You Start .................................... 24 Conventions Used in this Document ....................................... 24 Using Function Reference Entries ......................................... 25 Chapter 2. Building the Program ....................................................... 27 Supported Compilers .................................................. 27 Supported Platforms ................................................... 29 Naming Conventions .................................................. 30 Including API Files in Your Program ....................................... 31 Building a Program on UNIX ............................................ 31 Chapter 3. Integrating Essbase With Your Product ........................................... 35 Essbase Directory Structure .............................................. 35 Customizing the Run-Time Environment .................................... 36 Customizing the Path to the Essbase CLIENT Directory ...................... 37 Customizing the Path to the Message Database ............................. 37 Customizing the Path to the Essbase Login Help File ......................... 38 Creating Your Own On-line Help for AutoLogin ........................... 39 API Files You Need to Ship .............................................. 39 API Libraries ........................................................ 40 Installing Your Application Program ....................................... 41 Optimizing TCP/IP Networking for API Clients ............................... 42 Chapter 4. Building a Simple API Program ................................................. 45 Introduction ......................................................... 45 iii Design Environment Setup Issues ......................................... 45 Basic Requirements .................................................... 46 The Nested Program Model ........................................... 46 Using Function Return Codes ......................................... 47 Calling API Functions ............................................... 47 Initializing the API ................................................. 48 Logging On to a Server .............................................. 49 Connecting to a Database ............................................ 50 Logging Out ...................................................... 51 Terminating the API ................................................ 51 Assembling a Program ................................................. 51 Building Dimensions ................................................ 52 Editing the Outline ................................................. 53 Loading Data ..................................................... 54 Reporting ........................................................ 54 Updating Data .................................................... 61 Calculating Data ................................................... 62 Maintaining Applications and Databases ................................. 63 Handling Messages ................................................. 64 Managing Memory ................................................. 65 Chapter 5. Unicode Issues in Essbase API Programs .......................................... 67 General Programming Considerations ...................................... 67 Defining Unicode Mode Client Programs .................................... 67 Non-Unicode Clients ............................................... 68 Unicode-enabled Clients in Non-Unicode Mode ............................ 68 Unicode-enabled Clients in Unicode Mode ............................... 69 Specifying Unicode Mode ............................................ 69 Specifying the Byte Order Encoding ........................................ 69 Unicode Mode and Essbase Server ......................................... 70 Unicode Outlines ..................................................... 71 Grid API ........................................................... 71 Part II. C Main API ................................................................. 73 Chapter 6. Using the C Main API ....................................................... 75 C Main API Instance Handles ............................................ 75 C Main API Context Handles ............................................ 76 C Main API File Objects ................................................ 76 Using Memory in C Programs ............................................ 78 iv C Main API Message Handling ........................................... 79 How the Essbase C Main API Handles Messages ............................ 79 Defining a Custom Message Function in C Programs ........................ 80 Choosing a Network Protocol ............................................ 82 Calling C Main API Functions ............................................ 82 Typical C Main API Task Sequence ........................................ 83 Initializing the C Main API .............................................. 84 Logging in to an Essbase Server ........................................... 84 Selecting an Active Application and Database ................................. 84 Retrieving and Updating Data ............................................ 85 Recalculating the Database .............................................. 86 Logging Out from the Essbase Server and Terminating the C Main API .............. 87 C Main API Common Problems and Solutions ................................ 87 Chapter 7. C Main