Partitions not stored in the cube file

[Sorry - I'm throwing alot up here today - I know]

All partition info is stored in a <cubename>.partitions file.

I'm just wondering why this information is not stored in the <cubename>.cube file in the BIDS project. Especially considering that, if you view the code of <cubename>.cube there is an empty <Partitions /> tag for each Measure group.

Seems a bit strange to me. Any idea why this is?

-Jamie

The partitions are written in a separate file because it's common for projects to have many partitions and they can create a performance problem. The infrastructure for BI projects doesn't allow (or it allows with considerable effort not worth doing) loading a project file partially, on-demand as various elements are accessed in UI. Instead, the entire project file content is loaded into memory structures (AMO objects) that are displayed and edited in UI. By having the partitions into a separate file, we can open the cube editor for common task without loading all the partitions. And when the user goes to the Partitions tab (of cube editor), then partitions are loaded.

Adrian Dumitrascu

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Adrian,

Thanks, that makes sense. One other question then, why is there an empty <Partitions> element in the .cube file for each measure group?

Regards

Jamie

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The empty Partitions element is optional there. As it's now implemented, it's a sign that the MeasureGroup has Partitions in the separate .partitions file, but this might change in the future, it's not a guaranteed behaviour.

Adrian Dumitrascu

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Adrian Dumitrascu wrote:

The empty Partitions element is optional there. As it's now implemented, it's a sign that the MeasureGroup has Partitions in the separate .partitions file, but this might change in the future, it's not a guaranteed behaviour.

Adrian Dumitrascu

Thanks again Adrian!