Being able to think in sets is the key to being able to write more advanced queries and calculations in MDX. Chris Webb, world-authority on Multidimensional Expressions and SQL Server Analysis Services from Technitrain, introduces the commonest MDX functions that return sets in his newest, 40-minute, demo-focused video: Member and Set Functions. Amongst others, he explains: .MEMBERS, CROSSJOIN(), .PARENT, DESCENDANTS( ), ANCESTOR(), .NEXTMEMBER, .PREVMEMBER, .LEAD() and .LAG().

You will need these functions for rudimentary navigation using MDX, so make sure that if you are learning this industry-standard language of BI you follow this video, which is part of Chris’s new online MDX course. We have five more MDX modules on their way, so if you plan to learn it, and other aspects of serious BI, please join us for a year.