Executing commands against an analytical data source

After you connect to an analytical data source, use an AdomdCommand object to run commands and return results. Use Multidimensional Expressions (MDX), Data Mining Extensions (DMX), or limited SQL syntax to retrieve data. Use Analysis Services Scripting Language (ASSL) commands to change the underlying database.

Creating a command

Create a command before you run it. Use one of two methods:

Use the CommandText property to get or set the command text. A command doesn't have to return data when it runs.

Running a command

After you create an AdomdCommand object, use one of its Execute methods to run a command or return results. The following table describes some of these methods.

To Use this method
Return results as a stream of data ExecuteReader to return an AdomdDataReader object
Return a CellSet object ExecuteCellSet
Run commands that don't return rows ExecuteNonQuery
Return an XMLReader object that contains the data in an XML for Analysis (XMLA) compliant format ExecuteXmlReader

Example of running a command

This example uses an AdomdCommand object to run an XMLA command. The command processes the Adventure Works DW cube on the local server without returning data.

        void ExecuteXMLAProcessCommand()
        {
            //Open a connection to the local server
            AdomdConnection conn = new AdomdConnection("Data Source=localhost");
            conn.Open();

            //Create a command, and assign it an XMLA command to process the cube.
            AdomdCommand cmd = conn.CreateCommand();
            cmd.CommandText = "<Process xmlns=\"http://schemas.microsoft.com/analysisservices/2003/engine\">\r\n" +
  @"<Object>
    <DatabaseID>Adventure Works DW Standard Edition</DatabaseID>
    <CubeID>Adventure Works DW</CubeID>
  </Object>
  <Type>ProcessFull</Type>
  <WriteBackTableCreation>UseExisting</WriteBackTableCreation>
</Process>";

            //Execute the command
            int result = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();

            //Close the connection
            conn.Close();
        }
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