Methods of navigating a cube that is implemented as a relational object

A method for performing an operation based on multidimensional data in a relational database, wherein the multidimensional data that is stored in the relational database includes a plurality of dimensions and at least one dimension of the plurality of dimensions includes a hierarchy having two or more levels of granularity, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

• generating a query that defines a cube, the query including a first set of instructions to select a portion of said multidimensional data for inclusion in said cube and a second set of instructions to cause said cube to contain multidimensional data aggregated at each of said two or more levels of granularity of said at least one dimension;
• receiving a request for a first operation;
• based on the request, modifying the query to generate a modified query that includes a third set of instructions that represent the first operation;
• and
• submitting the modified query to a relational database engine to cause the first operation to be performed against the cube.