Dimensions

The dimensions property contains a set of dimensions. You can think about a dimension as an attribute related to a measure, e.g. the measure userCount can have dimensions like country, age, occupation, etc.

Any dimension should have the following properties: name, sql and type.

Naming

You can name a dimension by following the same rules as for measure, so each name should:

• Be unique within a cube
• Start with a lowercase letter
• Consist of numbers, letters and _

cube(`Products`, {
  dimensions: {
    price: {
      sql: `price`,
      type: `number`,
    },

    brand_name: {
      sql: `brand_name`,
      type: `string`,
    },
  },
});

Parameters

case

The case statement is used to define if/then/else conditions to display data. It contains two parameters: when and then. The first when statement declares a condition and result if the rule returns a true value. The second else statement declares results for options when rules return a false value.

The following static label example will create a size dimension with values xl and xxl:

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    size: {
      type: `string`,
      case: {
        when: [
          { sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xl-en'`, label: `xl` },
          { sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xl'`, label: `xl` },
          { sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xxl-en'`, label: `xxl` },
          { sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xxl'`, label: `xxl` },
        ],
        else: { label: `Unknown` },
      },
    },
  },
});

The label property can be defined dynamically as an object with a sql property in JavaScript models:

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    size: {
      type: `string`,
      case: {
        when: [
          {
            sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xl-en'`,
            label: { sql: `${CUBE}.english_size` },
          },
          {
            sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xl'`,
            label: { sql: `${CUBE}.euro_size` },
          },
          {
            sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xxl-en'`,
            label: { sql: `${CUBE}.english_size` },
          },
          {
            sql: `${CUBE}.meta_value = 'xxl'`,
            label: { sql: `${CUBE}.euro_size` },
          },
        ],
        else: { label: `Unknown` },
      },
    },
  },
});

description

You can add details to a dimension's definition via the description property:

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    comment: {
      type: `string`,
      sql: `comments`,
      description: `Comments for orders`,
    },
  },
});

meta

Custom metadata. Can be used to pass any information to the frontend.

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    users_count: {
      sql: `${Users.count}`,
      type: `number`,
      meta: {
        any: 'value',
      },
    },
  },
});

primaryKey

Specify which dimension is a primary key for a cube. The default value is false.

A primary key is used to make joins work properly.

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    id: {
      sql: `id`,
      type: `number`,
      primaryKey: true,
    },
  },
});

propagateFiltersToSubQuery

When this statement is set to true, the filters applied to the query will be passed to the subquery.

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    users_count: {
      sql: `${Users.count}`,
      type: `number`,
      subQuery: true,
      propagateFiltersToSubQuery: true,
    },
  },
});

shown

You can manage the visibility of the dimension using the shown property. The default value of shown is true.

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    comment: {
      type: `string`,
      sql: `comments`,
      shown: false,
    },
  },
});

sql

sql is a required parameter. It can take any valid SQL expression depending on the type of the dimension. Please refer to the Dimension Types Guide for detailed information on the corresponding sql parameter.

cube(`Orders`, {
  dimensions: {
    created_at: {
      sql: `created_at`,
      type: `time`,
    },
  },
});

subQuery

The subQuery statement allows you to reference a measure in a dimension. It's an advanced concept and you can learn more about it here.

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    users_count: {
      sql: `${Users.count}`,
      type: `number`,
      subQuery: true,
    },
  },
});

title

You can use the title parameter to change a dimension's displayed name. By default, Cube will humanize your dimension key to create a display name. In order to override default behavior, please use the title property:

cube('Products', {
  dimensions: {
    meta_value: {
      type: `string`,
      sql: `meta_value`,
      title: `Size`,
    },
  },
});