The data source property defines how to retrieve the data for the dimension level or simple attribute in the OLAP query. In Interactive PMCube Explorer, there are three different kinds of data sources:
Database Column: This kind of data source defines the database column that stores the value of the attribute (dimension level or simple attribute). If the database column belongs to a different table than the event table, this table must (at least transitively) referenced by the event table.
Implicit Value: If the data cube contains multiple event tables, it is possible that some event tables only contain events representing the same activity. For example, there may be a dedicated event table storing order activities. These tables may not have a column holding the activity name because this is implicitly defined by the fact that an event is stored in that table. However, the events of such an event table require an explicit activity for process discovery. Therefore, Interactive PMCube Explorer provides the implicit value data source that allows the user to make these implicitly defined values explicit.
Derived: This kind of data source allows for the definition of "virtual" attributes. This are attributes that are not stored in the database but that can be derived from one or more other attributes. For example, if the database contains a time-stamp for the beginning and the end of the events, it is possible to derive the event duration by calculating the difference of both time-stamps. Derived data sources are defined by a SQL code fragment which derives the attribute value for an event.
As some data cube models allow for more than one event table, the data sources are separately defined for each event table. Every simple attribute and dimension level must define a data source for each event table defined in the meta-data.