Cognos Framework Manager Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. What Is Framework Manager?

Answer :

Frame Work Manager is windows based metadata modeling tool for Cognos studios.

Question 2. Why We Need Framework Manager?

Answer :

• To create the interface known as Project.
• To create model the metadata derived from one or more data sources

Question 3. How A Project Appears In A Frame Work Manager?

Answer :

A frame work manager project appears as a folder that contains a project file (.cpf) and the specific XML files that define the project.

Question 4. What Are The Building Blocks In Framework Manager?

Answer :

The Query subjects are called Building Blocks in Framework Manager.

Question 5. What Are Phases The Workflow Process Consists In Framework Manager?

Answer :

The workflow process consists of the following phases:

• Design and create project
• Prepare Metadata
• Prepare the Business View
• Create and Manger Packages
• Set Security
• Publish
• Manage the Project

Question 6. How You Set The Security Framework Manager?

Answer :

To set the security you have to set as:

• Define access to packages.
• Create security filters
• Define access to objects
• Define package administration access

Question 7. Define Name Space?

Answer :

• In security, a collection of user accounts and user groups from an authentication provider.
• A Name Space is a container, which holds the Query Subjects.
• A NameSpace uniquely represents the Query Subjects.

Question 8. Can You Delete Cognos Namespace?

Answer :

No, we cannot delete Cognos namespace

Question 9. What Is The Cognos Namespace? And What It Contains?

Answer :

The Cognos namespace is the Cognos built-in namespace

It contains Cognos objects:

• Groups
• Roles
• Sources
• Distribution lists
• Contacts

Question 10. What Are The Groups And Roles?

Answer :

Groups and roles represent collections of users that perform similar tasks.

Question 11. What Is Folder?

Answer :

A Folder is used to organize the Query Subjects.

Question 12. Define Relationship?

Answer :

A Relationship is a connection that explains how the data in one Query Subject related to data in other Query Subjects.

Question 13. What Is A Package?

Answer :

A container of model or set of models. Modelers create packages in Framework Manager to publish models to the Cognos connection.

Question 14. What Is Physical Layer?

Answer :

The Physical layer provides the physical query layer and is made up primarily of data source and stored procedure query subjects. It acts as the foundation for the presentation layer.

Question 15. What Is Presentation Layer?

Answer :

The Presentation layer makes it easier for report authors to find and understand their data. The Presentation layer is made up primarily of model query subjects that you create.

Question 16. Define Function Set?

Answer :

A function set is a collection of vendor specific database.

The Expression editor lists the function sets for all available vendors. However, you can restrict the function sets, so that it lists only the vendors that you want to use in your project.

Question 17. What Is A Metadata?

Answer :

Data about data is called as Metadata. The Metadata contains the definition of a data.

Question 18. What Is A Project?

Answer :

When we work with a framework manager you work in a project.

Project is a set of metadata organized for Report Authors according to the Business rules and Model

A Project created appears as folder, which contains following files.

• Project Name .CPF (Cognos Project File)
• Model .XML
• Preferences .XML
• Custom data .XML
• archive-log.xml
• log.xml
• session-log.xml
• session-log-backup.xml
• IDLog.xml

The files in the folder are unique to that Project.

Question 19. Define Publish?

Answer :

To transfer all or part of a Framework Manager model to the Cognos connection, so that report authors can use it.

Question 20. What A Project Contains?

Answer :

• A Model
• Namespaces
• Data sources
• Parameter maps
• Packages
• Folders
• Query Subject
• Query Item
• Relation ship

Question 21. What Is A Model?

Answer :

A model in Frame work manager is a business presentation of the structure of the data from one or more databases.

Question 22. What Are Dimensions?

Answer :

Dimensions are categories by which summarized data can be viewed.

Question 23. What Are Conformed Dimensions?

Answer :

The Dimensions which are removable and fixed in nature.

Question 24. What Are Fact Tables?

Answer :

A Fact Table is a table that contains summarized numerical (facts) and historical data. This Fact Table has a foreign key – primary key relation with a dimension table.

Question 25. What Are The Types Of Facts?

Answer :

The types of Facts are:

Additive Facts: - A Fact which can be summed up for any of the dimension available in the Fact Table.

Semi-Additive Facts: - A Fact which can be summed up to a few dimensions and not for all dimensions and not for all dimensions available in the Fact Table.

Non-Additive Fact: - a fact which cannot be summed up for any of the dimensions available in the Fact Table.

Question 26. Define Query?

Answer :

A description of the data to be retrieved from a database.

Question 27. Explain About Data Source Query Subject?

Answer :

Data Source query subjects contain SQL statements the directly reference data in a single data source. Frame work manager automatically creates a data source query subject for each table and view that you import into model.

Question 28. When The Default Data Source Query Subject Is Created?

Answer :

During the initial metadata import operation, a default data source query subject is created for each object you select (for example table) and creates the default relationships between query subjects for you automatically.

Question 29. How Can You Edit The Data Source Query Subject?

Answer :

• Apply or embed a filter
• Apply or embed a calculation
• Insert a Macro
• Insert a data source reference.
• Change the SQL type.
• Change how SQL is generated.

These all are we can find it in “Edit definition window”.

Question 30. What Are The Types Of Sql?

Answer :

SQL is the industry language for creating, updating and querying relational database management system. Types of SQL.

• Cognos SQL
• Native SQL
• Pass-through SQL.

Question 31. Define Cognos Sql?

Answer :

By default Cognos Frame work manager uses Cognos SQL to create and edit Query subjects.

Advantages:

• Can contain metadata from multiple data sources.
• Have fewer database restrictions
• Interact more effectively with Cognos applications.

Disadvantages:

You can not enter nonstandard SQL.

Question 32. Define Native Sql?

Answer :

Native SQL is the SQL, the data source uses, such as Oracle SQL, but you cannot uses Native SQL in a query subject that references more than one data source in the project.

Advantages:

• Performance is optimized across all related query subjects.
• You can use SQL that is specific to your database.

Disadvantages:

• You cannot use SQL that the data source does not support for sub queries.
• The query subject may not work on different database type.

Question 33. Define Pass-through Sql?

Answer :

Pass-Through SQL lets you use native SQL without any of the restrictions the data source imposes on sub queries.

Advantages:

You can enter any SQL supported by the database.

Disadvantages:

There is no opportunity for Frame work manager to automatically optimize performance. The SQL may not work on a different data source.

Question 34. What Are Query Processing Types?

Answer :

There are two types of query processing:

Limited Local: The database server does as much of the SQL processing and Execution as possible. However, some reports or report sections use local SQL processing.

Database only: The database server does all the SQL processing and execution with the exception of tasks not supported by the database. An error appears if any reports of report sections require local SQL processing.

Question 35. What Is Query Subject?

Answer :

• A Query Subject maps to the table in the database.
• A Query Subject uses an SQL to retrieve the data from the data source.
• A Query Subject is also known as Business View.

Question 36. What Are The Types Of Query Subjects?

Answer :

• Default data source query subjects
• Model Query Subjects
• Stored Query subjects

Question 37. What Is A Query Item?

Answer :

A query Item maps to columns to the database table. A Query Subject contains Query Items.

Question 38. How Can You Restrict The Tables Retrieved By A Query?

Answer :

By setting governors we can restrict the tables.

Question 39. What Is Meant By Governors?

Answer :

To apply privileges and restrictions for a user class. Governor settings are used to set restrictions on queries by user class, such as

1. Sorting on non-indexed columns
2. Outer joins
3. Suppress duplicates
4. Cross-product queries
5. Retrieval of large text items
6. Number of records
7. Number of tables
8. Query execution time

Question 40. What Is A User Class?

Answer :

A defined group of users with the same data access needs privileges and restrictions.

Question 41. What Is Scrubbing At Project Level?

Answer :

According to the report requirements derive the new Items with the help of existing Query Items. This process is known as Scrubbing at Project level.

Question 42. How Can You Add The Calculated Data To A Report?

Answer :

• Summarize existing detail values predefined summary functions (such as sum, avg)
• Create new report items using data from existing report items.
• Use model calculations provided in the package.

Question 43. What Are The Sources To Create New Query Subjects?

Answer :

A new Query Subject can be created from the following sources:

• Model (Query subjects & Query Items)
• Data Sources (Tables and Columns)
• Stored Procedure.

Question 44. What Is Multi Database Access In Cognos ?

Answer :

In Cognos "Framework Manager" a Project can be created from multiple databases. The databases can be either homogeneous or hetrogeneous.

Question 45. What Are Parameter Maps?

Answer :

• A Parameter Map is a key value pair used in creation of conditional Query Subjects.
• A Parameter map sub situates the values at the query at runtime.

Question 46. What Is The Default Formats Of Reports?

Answer :

HTML, PDF, CSV, and XML.

Question 47. What Are The Different Ways To Modify Multi Lingual Metadata?

Answer :

• Macro :- To modify dynamically
• Directly

Question 48. What Is A Macro?

Answer :

A Macro is a run time object, which uses the parameter maps and session parameters in developing the conditional query subjects.

Question 49. What Is Usage Property? And What Are Different Settings To Set Usage Property?

Answer :

It identifies the intended use for the data represented by each query item.

It determines the aggregation rules of query items and calculations.

The different usage property settings are:

•  Identified
•  Fact
• Attribute
•  Unknown

Question 50. What Are The Types Of Filters In Framework Manager?

Answer :

In framework manager we can create two types of filters.

• Stand Alone Filters.
• Embedded Filters.

Question 51. Define Model Filter?

Answer :

• A filter is a condition used to restrict the data displayed in the Report.
• Model filter are reusable.

Question 52. Define Data Restriction?

Answer :

A filter is a condition, which restricts the amount of data displayed in the report.

Question 53. What Is Condition?

Answer :

An expression that yields a Boolean value. Conditions are used in query expressions, query filters, and Boolean report variables that can be used for conditional formatting, styles, data sources, layouts and blocks.

Question 54. What Are The Types Of Filters In Report Studio?

Answer :

In the report studio we can find two types of filters:

1. Tabular Filters:- These filters are two types

• a. Summary Filters
• b. Detailed Filters

2. Grouped Filter

Question 55. What Is A Loop?

Answer :

• A Loop is a closed path which is resulted due to joins.
• A Loop causes performance degradation of query execution and wrong data will be displayed in the report.
• A Loop can be resolved by creating the short cuts (Alias).

Question 56. What Is Alias Table?

Answer :

An alternative name for a table generally used in self joins.

Question 57. What Are The Uses Of Alias Table?

Answer :

The uses of Alias Table are:

• To resolve the Loops.
• To create self-joins with in a table.
• To provide alternate join structure

Question 58. What Is Associated Data Item?

Answer :

A Data Item linked to the group data item. Associated data item suppress duplicate data values but do not generate a control break. The associated column displays only one data values for the group with which it is associated.

Question 59. What Is Automatic Association?

Answer :

The group association of a newly created summary. The location of the group where you create the summary determines its automatic association.

Question 60. What Is An Ambiguous Relationship?

Answer :

An ambiguous relationship is where there are multiple relationship paths between one or more query subjects leaving multiple options for how to write a query.

Question 61. What Is A Join And Types Of Joins?

Answer :

A Join identifies the columns from one table that are used to link to another table.

A Join is commonly formed by a foreign key definition within the database.

Types of Joins:-

• Equi-joins
• Non equi-joins
• Outer joins

Question 62. What Is A Dimension?

Answer :

A broad grouping of descriptive data about a major aspect of a business, such as products, dates, or markets. Each dimension includes different levels of members in one or more hierarchies, and an optional set of calculated members.

Question 63. What Is A Conformed Dimension?

Answer :

If a Dimension is connected to multiple fact tables then it is called as Conformed Dimension.

Question 64. What Is A Junk Dimension?

Answer :

A randomly used dimension is Junk Dimension

Question 65. Define Surrogate Key?

Answer :

It has system-generated artificial primary key values, which allows to maintain historical records in the Data Warehouse more effectively.

Question 66. What Are The User Interface Components

Answer :

• Cognos Connection
• Report Studio
• Query Studio
• Frame work manager
• Cognos configuration