DiveMaster can promote an Info Field to a Dynamic Dimension so that it is diveable in the ProDiver client. If you are using models, you can overcome the thirty-two core dimension restriction by building a DivePlan and treating Info Fields as if they were dimensions.
Using the classic model Builder, you can create a model where some of the dimensions are defined as Info Fields. Dynamic dimensions enable you to bypass the limit of thirty-two core dimensions, but there are some limitations:
- The model Builder optimizes core dimensions; not dynamic dimensions. Because of this, using Info Fields can lead to slower response times in Diver.
- To function correctly, an Info Field must be unique; that is, it must maintain a 1:1 relationship to its corresponding core dimension.
- For performance reasons, it is a good idea to keep the ratio of core dimensions to Info Fields around 20:1.
An example of what not to do is to create a ratio of days to years in which "day" is the core dimension and "year" is the related Info Field. This creates a ratio of 365:1. A better option is to associate the core dimension "month" with "year", reducing the ratio to 12:1.
Another benefit of using dynamic dimensions is that you can use an Info Field to display Map views. If the Diver client, for example, is given a dimension called Geographic Key in a lookup file, it automatically creates the following Info Fields for United States data:
- City Info Field
- State Info Field
- Zip Code Info Field
Diver promotes these automatically-created Info Fields to dynamic dimensions so that they can be used to create a map.