An ambiguous query is a query that contains one or more objects that can potentially return two different TYPES of information. In a universe, certain dimensions may have values that are used for two different purposes in the database.

For example, the [Country] dimension in the query below can return two types of information:

1. Customers and the country in which they spent their vacation.
2. Customers and the country for which they have made their reservation.

The ROLE that Country plays in this query is ambiguous. A country value can be either the country where a vacation was sold, or a country where a vacation is reserved. One is existing information (SALES), and the other is future information (reservations). To avoid ambiguities in a query, the universe designer identifies the different WAYS that objects can be used in the universe, and IMPLEMENTS restrictions on how these objects can be combined. These restrictions are called contexts.

An ambiguous query is a query that contains one or more objects that can potentially return two different types of information. In a universe, certain dimensions may have values that are used for two different purposes in the database.

For example, the [Country] dimension in the query below can return two types of information:

The role that Country plays in this query is ambiguous. A country value can be either the country where a vacation was sold, or a country where a vacation is reserved. One is existing information (sales), and the other is future information (reservations). To avoid ambiguities in a query, the universe designer identifies the different ways that objects can be used in the universe, and implements restrictions on how these objects can be combined. These restrictions are called contexts.