Intrinsic Member Properties: The MEMBER_KEY Property

In this lesson, we will examine MEMBER_KEY, an intrinsic member property. MEMBER_KEY. As we noted in Intrinsic Member Properties: The MEMBER_CAPTION Property, the intrinsic member properties supported by SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services are of two types: context sensitive member properties and non-context sensitive member properties. MEMBER_KEY belongs to the second group of properties. As a general group, intrinsic member properties provide additional information that can be used by applications to enhance the user's experience. Support for the non-context sensitive member properties is the same for all members, regardless of individual context.

The purpose of the MEMBER_KEY property is to support the return of the member key, in the original data type, for the member with which it is associated. MEMBER_KEY can be useful in a host of different applications, particularly in scenarios where backward compatibility is a consideration; and as I have noted to be the case for other functions and properties within the MDX Essentials series, MEMBER_KEY allows us to exercise a great deal of presentation “sleight of hand,” in working with MDX in Analysis Services, as well as within Reporting Services and various other reporting applications that can access an Analysis Services cube.

The MEMBER_KEY property can be leveraged in activities that range from generating simple lists to supporting sophisticated presentations. It is a particularly effective tool when we need to provide parameter picklist support (where it can serve multiple purposes, such as an index) and the like, as we shall see. We will introduce the function, commenting upon its operation and touching upon examples of effects that we can employ it to deliver. As a part of our discussion, we will:

• Examine the syntax surrounding the function;
• Undertake illustrative examples of the uses of the function in practice exercises;
• Briefly discuss the results datasets we obtain in the practice examples.