Overview of MaxL and MDX

MaxL is the multi-dimensional database access language for Analytic Services. MaxL is a practical, expressive interface for administering and querying the Analytic Services system. With the MaxL language, you use statements to make requests. MaxL statements usually begin with a verb, and read like English sentences.

Beginning with Release 7.0, MaxL has two functional domains:

Data Definition Language (MaxL DDL) Data definition means structural control of a database system. This includes operations like creation, deletion, and updating of users, applications, databases, and database objects. Therefore, statements in MaxL DDL include verbs like CREATE, ALTER, DROP, GRANT, and DISPLAY.
Data Manipulation Language (MDX) Data manipulation means access to to the actual data within a database system. MDX provides the ability to perform advanced data extraction and querying by means of statements that typically include the verb SELECT. The equivalent conceptual tool would be Report Writer.

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