Selection of certain views of a multidimensional database to materialize
may be accomplished using an efficient and effective solution. A set of
all potential views may be stored in a structure. A path in the structure
may then be traversed in an indicated direction through the structure,
the path including two or more potential views and beginning at an
indicated view. Then two or more immaterialized views in the path may be
compared to each other to determine which immaterialized view is the
optimum choice for maximizing benefit if selected to be materialized.
Then the traversing and comparing may be continually iterated through,
each iteration utilizing an indicated direction different than the last,
each iteration also utilizing an indicated view set at the optimum choice
determined by the last iteration, the iterating continuing until it
converges on a single view. That single view may then be selected for
materialization.