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Ravel is a graphical user interface (GUI) tool for analysing multidimensional data sets. It fits within the subject of Online Analytical Processing (OLAP).
Ravel allows you to perform the usual OLAP operations of rollup (or reduction), drill down (the inverse of rollup), slicing, dicing and pivoting by means of simple manipulations of the Ravel control.
Now click on the axis marked “Country” and drag it over the “Gender” axis. The axes switch positions, and the output spreadsheet or plot automatically updates its values to be country by year instead of gender by year. You have just performed a rotation of the 3D datacube, so that you are looking along the gender axis now. Similarly, notice the small spot, which was originally labelled “Australia”, and is now labelled “Male”. This refers to the 2D slice of the datacube that you are now viewing. Drag this spot to where it now says “Female”. You have just changed the slice of the datacube to be looking at female data. Are you interested in aggregating sales over gender? Grab the gender axis, and slide it towards the origin. Now the sales data is aggregated over both genders. Perform the reverse motion away from the origin, and the axis expands to allow you to examine the individual data items again.
Congratulations, you have now performed all the basic operations of Online Analytics Processing (OLAP), namely pivot (or rotation), slice, roll-up (aggregation, or reduction) and drill down (reversing the aggregation operation). Ravel also allows some forms of dicing by means the the filter caliper and pick slices concepts.
Currently Ravel is available by subscription in the Ravel application, which is based on the open source Minsky systems dynamics simulator.
We plan to release further Ravel-enabled products in the future. Ravel is actually written in C++, so if you are interested in purchasing a source code license to Ravel for use in your own products, please contact us on ravelation@hpcoders.com.au to start a discussion.
Ravel is copyright Ravelation Pty Ltd, and the concept is protected by patent.