New FlowScript function for BI apps and other data driven apps
For data driven apps or any BI apps it would be great to have an easy way to create a complex result set of data.
With this function available we could create amazingly flexible and "Qlik-like" apps in no time.
Let's consider one scenario.
We want to display sales per period, per a few selected sales reps and products.
As dimensions we have Period (Quarter/Month), Salesman, Product.
For the actual sales we have one big fact table with all all sales, including the dimensions above.
In an app we want to select a group of salesmen and a few product, and then display, sales per quarter.
For this we need two operations (possibly in one FlowScript function):
1. Combine
2. Populate
Combine: Create one table with all combined dimensions (like an outer join without a on/where clause)
Populate: Map one (or more) columns from the fact table and put the aggregated result in the corresponding cell in the combined dimension table. Have a default expression for the cells without any value. This table would the be the output from the function.
The output could then be used to display & update data in a effective and comprehensive way.
Of course this can be done using existing FlowScript functions, but the suggested function would save a lot of time and have the potential to create a lot more flexible solutions.