[Business Intelligence] XML Parsing Error

This post is a reference for all BI boys [& girls] who use Microsoft SSAS for their data warehouse and stumble upon the fairly confusing error "XML parsing failed at line 1, column 0: A document must contain exactly one root element" during SSAS routine deployment.

Obvious Googling would lead to a number of solutions, all of which would require re-processing from scratch or in some cases, re-building your SSAS configuration. The following links are all but spot-on:

1. http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/sqlserver/en-US/583d5fed-0f48-4a51-9618-31b833e82719/ssas-sudden-startup-problem?forum=sqlanalysisservices 
2. https://scn.sap.com/thread/2095356 
3. http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1024873-391-1.aspx

The solutions in the aforementioned links are not time-savvy and when I stumbled upon this error pressed against time, I decided to try out something which I faintly thought would work. As a result, I stumbled upon the quicker solution to this problem as follows:

1. Navigate to the :\\\OLAP_Data\.0.db\ folder.
2. Delete everything inside this folder - .cub, .dim., .role files. [Relax!]
3. Hit the Deployment button in your SSAS project file.

The error will no longer appear and the cube will be deployed in no time [with previously processed partitions retaining their state, hence no need to re-process them from scratch]. I have faced this error ~5 times and the above solution has always worked!

Re: Hasan Nisar and nude beaches in Pakistan

This is in response to the Express Tribune blog article titled "Hasan Nisar and nude beaches in Pakistan".

The article initiated off in line with an avid observation however, there was no connection of the arguments provided later on in the article to the original point. It was as though the writer was blaming the social norms in the country for the lack of availability of nude beaches. At one end, there was the discussion of whether a woman should be allowed out of the house and at the other the hypocrisy of the Pakistani nation to resort to using proxies was cited. The article in totality was neither balanced nor did it succeed it connecting the dots starting with Hasan Nisar's original observation. 

Not doubting the intention of the writer nor the analytical baggage, however there should have been a clearer connection in the arguments and could have established a better connection between the original observation of Hasan Nisar's comment on nude beaches and the societal allowances prevalent today. The talk about frustration and survival instincts were particularly good in connecting with the societal barricades in place but there was little relevance to the final conclusion of using proxies instead of having nude beaches. Also, there were some flaws in the argument where "freedom for all genders" was brought into the discussion. It should be remembered that "freedom" and "equality" and "equity" are all separate things and that if one were to judge all things against the same rubric, then it would not be feasible for anyone to co-exist.

In the least the statement, "We need to make the world a better place to live in and freedom for all genders is necessary for that." failed to link the thought to the topic of nude beaches. Danish, you ought to do better next time!