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SAP BW Hierarchy

An SAP BW hierarchy is a tree-like structure that defines classes of information. Each level of the hierarchy represents a different class. A hierarchy displays an SAP BW characteristic, which is a reference object with dimensions.

The hierarchy is structured and grouped according to individual evaluation criteria based on the characteristic. The structure at each level of the hierarchy is called a node.

Node Types

A hierarchy has the following types of nodes:

Root node: The root node is the highest node in the structure and is the origin of all other nodes. The root node represents the hierarchy.
Child node: A child node is a node that is subordinate to another node.
Leaf node: Leaf nodes are the lowest level in the hierarchy. Leaf nodes do not have any successor nodes.

You can create a workflow to load data into an SAP BW hierarchy. To load data into a hierarchy, create an InfoSource or DataSource for master data in the target SAP BW system. Then, import the hierarchy as a data object into the Developer tool. When you import the definition of a hierarchy, the Developer tool creates a transfer structure with fields that make up the structure of the SAP BW hierarchy.

Hierarchy Structure

You can configure the structure of a hierarchy in the InfoSource or DataSource properties. The following settings define the structure of an SAP BW hierarchy:

Sorted hierarchy: A sorted hierarchy defines the sequence of nodes for each level of a hierarchy. When you specify a sorted hierarchy, each child node is ordered in relation to its sibling nodes.
Interval hierarchy: An interval hierarchy specifies a range of characteristic values. You can use one interval to represent multiple leaf nodes. You define an interval in SAP BW by setting a range of values.
Time-dependent hierarchy: A time-dependent hierarchy specifies a range of dates. You can define either the entire hierarchy or the hierarchy structure as time dependent. When the entire hierarchy is time dependent, it is valid only in a defined range of dates. When the hierarchy structure is time dependent, the nodes in the hierarchy change for specified periods of time while the name and version of the hierarchy remain static. You define a date range in SAP BW by setting a range of dates.
Version-dependent hierarchy: Version-dependent hierarchies have the same name, but different versions.

When you import an InfoSource or DataSource with a hierarchy, the Developer tool creates only the fields in the transfer structure definition that are required to replicate the structure of the SAP BW hierarchy.

The following table shows the fields that the Developer tool can create in the data object when you import the metadata for a hierarchy definition from SAP BW:

Field Name	Hierarchy Type	Description
NODEID	All hierarchies	Local and unique identifier for the hierarchy node.
INFOOBJECT	All hierarchies	InfoObject that is referenced by the hierarchy node.
NODENAME	All hierarchies	Name of the hierarchy node.
LINK	All hierarchies	Specifies a field as a link node.
PARENTID	All hierarchies	NODEID of the parent node of the hierarchy node.
CHILDID	Sorted hierarchy	NODEID of the first child node of the hierarchy node.
NEXTID	Sorted hierarchy	NODEID of the sibling node following the hierarchy node.
DATEFROM	Time-dependent hierarchy	Start date in a range of dates.
DATETO	Time-dependent hierarchy	End date in a range of dates.
LEAFFROM	Interval hierarchy	Lower limit for an interval node.
LEAFTO	Interval hierarchy	Upper limit for an interval node.
LANGU	All hierarchies	Language.
TXTSH	All hierarchies	Short text.
TXTMD	All hierarchies	Medium text.
TXTLG	All hierarchies	Long text.

If you import different versions of a hierarchy into a data object, the hierarchy name includes the version. If you import a hierarchy with time-dependent values, the hierarchy name contains the date range specified for the hierarchy.

When you run a workflow, the Data Integration Service loads the hierarchy into the transfer structure fields.

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