Further Configuring Queries 
After you have created a query, you may further configure it by defining different inputs and outputs for your data service. For example, you may wish to:
Create a different output port:
Create a columns chart view on the output port that graphically displays the result of a Top 5 query in columns.
Create a different input port:
Create an input form on the data service that lets the user enter a string for a specific country and then re-submit the query.
Create advanced BI applications:
Create an advanced BI application by stringing multiple objects together from the input and output of the data service.
Prerequisites
As outlined in Use the BI Integration Wizard.
Procedure
Creating a Different Output Port
All of the queries created using the BI Integration Wizard (except for Heatmaps) are automatically configured with a table view on the output port. You may instead configure your data service to display a different view such as a chart. To do this:
Select and delete the table view connected to the output port of your data service.
Drag from query's Output port and choose Add Chart View from the context menu (see Create a Chart). You can also experiment with chart animation and interactivity.
Possible alternate views for each query template are suggested in the following table:
Query Template |
Alternate View |
|---|---|
All Data |
Table |
Count (OLAP) |
Bar chart |
Count (Relational) |
Table |
Cumulative Total |
Line chart |
Freeform (OLAP or Relational) |
Table |
Grand Totals |
Table |
Minimum/Maximum |
Table |
Moving Average |
Line chart |
Percentage Growth |
Table |
Percentage Share |
Pie chart |
Planned vs. Actual |
Column chart |
Rank Change |
Table |
Top N |
Column chart |
Trend over Time |
Line chart |
Zero Activity |
Table |
Creating a Different Input Port
All of the queries created via the BI Integration Wizard are automatically configured with a start input. You may instead wish to provide a form on the input port so the user can enter specific information and resubmit the query at runtime. To do this:
Select and delete the start input of your data service.
Drag from query's Input port and choose Add Input Form from the context menu (see Form View in the Visual Composer Reference Guide).
The table below lists the default fields on the input ports for each type of system:
System Type |
Description |
|---|---|
Relational systems |
Every field of the selected table |
OLAP systems |
One field per dimension of the selected cube |
Note
In OLAP queries in which variables are stored, you will also see an additional Variables input port. You can attach an input form in the same way to this port.
Creating Advanced BI Applications
You can string multiple objects together from the inputs and outputs of the data service to create advanced BI applications. For example:
Use the result of one query as the input of another query:
You could supply a list of countries from a JDBC table as input to a second query. To do this, attach the output of the first query to the input of the second query and map the fields. Use the Field section at the bottom of the Configure Element Task Panel to specify the fields that appear in the input form.
Supply real-time results as input for a query:
In business scenarios, you may wish to use detailed real-time data such as results from an SAP ERP system BAPI as the input to a query, and then perform analysis of it in the BI query. For example, get a list of current customers from an ERP system BAPI and then perform analysis for each customer with a BI query.
One example of such an advanced scenario might look something like the below on the Visual Composer storyboard:
Caution
Query results are dynamic. If you are using fields from the result of one query as the input for another object, your mappings could become invalid when the results of your query change during runtime. In this case, the input port becomes null and could provide unexpected results.