2, report tool
Let us discuss some report tools that are widely used in the existing report system. How to choose the best in these tools is a very critical decision. There are three main report tools under .NET:
a) Crystal report
Crystal Report (Integrated with Visual Studio .NET) is a standard report tool in Visual Studio .NET. It has the ability to interactively create high quality content reports. In the .NET platform, the crystal report is an important part of the Visual Studio .NET environment.
With crystal reports, developers can put the report on the Web and Windows platforms, and then publish the crystal report on the web server as a report web service. The crystal report integrated in Visual Studio .NET is based on the 8.0 frame of the Crystal Report, but gives .NET developers provide a rich API developed to the .NET platform.
The crystal report integrated in Visual Studio .NET provides data display and analysis capabilities for developers through all seamless sets in the .NET Visual Studio language. It uses an open and flexible architecture that uses a lot of standards (such as XML) sharing reports and information on the Web. Reports can be displayed in both Windows and HTML.
You can create a new crystal report using Visual Studio .NET or add an existing crystal report to a project. Reports can be saved on a local host or published on a web server with a web service. What form is dependent on this is a Windows program or a web program because it can be bound to the Windows viewer or web viewer. Users can run a Windows program on a Windows platform or configure a web program to the client browser to view crystal reports.
The crystal report integrated in Visual Studio .NET can operate on a single layer, a double layer, a three-layer architecture, whether based on a Windows form or a web form platform.
Single-layer application
For a single layer-based method and contains a local report, all components are installed on each user's machine. Report components include report files (.rpt files) and report engines, which are installed on the user's machine via executable.
Scalability
A Windows application containing local reports is best for small batch distribution configurations because the program is installed on each user's machine. This type of configuration implies how to increase user-end. If there is any change in the report, the program needs to be reinstalled on the user machine.
Two-layer application
In the case of a web application containing a local report (.rpt file), the program is based on a two-layer relationship, and all clients are controlled by the web server.
Scalability
Users only need to have browsers on their machines. All report components are stored on the server and can be set in the update.
The three-layer application report web service refers to a crystal report used by the released or configured. With the Internet, Window or Web programs can be connected to the report web service, use the configured crystal report, and then put it in a report viewer to display the report for the user. Support reporting Web services is part of the architecture or access report Web services is part of the architecture.
Scalability
Users View Reports Web Services requires only a Windows Form Viewer or a web browser, and what viewer uses to use the type of program. All other report components are put on the remote server with the report web services. Any changes in the report web service will be reflected in time to the program.
Enterprise Applies in large enterprises, a distributed program requires support reports to view and deliver, require more than one report engine to meet all users' report query requests. Crystal Enterprise Edition provides a flexible, web-based security management and delivery system to provide a Crystal Report (.rpt) file for authorized users, or authorized users can be organized.
Using Visual Studio .NET can generate a program that can access the Crystal Enterprise Server. This allows the designer to generate a small client, which can be distributed to thousands of users, using crystal enterprise servers to handle report management, processing, and arrangements. Scalability
Crystal Enterprise Edition allows organizations to scale (add more processors) or non-proportion (add more machines) to meet the growing user needs. This system provides high-speed web access to the urgent needed and planned reports. Crystal Enterprise Edition is submitted to rich, interactive reports for corporate applications.
license
Now let's take a look at the license details related to the crystal report. There are four versions of the Crystal Report: Integrated Crystal Reports, Development, Advanced Edition and Professional Edition in .NET. The main features of the crystal report development and advanced version are: support mobile devices, more output formats, improve flexibility in connection database and acquisition data from the database.
Crystal reports based on .NET are mainly suitable for designing and testing server or web-based applications. It also applies to a Windows application for large clients, such as the report engine is installed and running on the terminal user machine. But it doesn't apply to the environment of the web factory. Using the .NET Report Components Release a server or web application to a third party (outside the organization), a written authorization of Crystal Company is required. This process does not require additional costs.
b) Crystal Report Enterprise Edition
Crystal Enterprise is a web-based enterprise report management and distribution system. Crystal Enterprise Edition can add new features for existing .NET reports because it provides a secure, scalable, multi-level Web-based reporting system. Using this architecture, users from organizations, business partners, and customers can get important information through web. The following is some of the main functions of the Crystal Enterprise Edition.
Safety and crystal statements are different. The crystal enterprise version combines a security system that provides content distribution management for internal and external users. It provides security performance of users and object levels. It also provides the ability to record all operation logs on the Crystal Enterprise Server, and these can be user security and auditing purposes.
Planning Crystal Enterprise Edition includes a time schedule system that allows report processing in a specific time or periodic time. Time Plan is to pay attention to Morality in a cluster server component, so you can guarantee that the key processing plan will not be lost or ignored when there is a hardware problem. The planning system can enhance the performance of the system by preparation before the report is needed.
Load balancing in a multi-server environment, the balanced load in multiple machines can greatly improve the expansion performance and the reaction time of the end user. Load balancing can also ensure the effectiveness of hardware and reduce performance bottlenecks. Crystal Enterprise Edition includes internal load balancing on all system management and report processing functions.
A key formation in a fault-tolerant enterprise architecture is the internal fault tolerance support. The ability to handle the key system components clusters to ensure maximum normal running time and response rates and hardware failures, the ability to process between the machines within the cluster.
Caching this web optimization method enhances the response of Crystal Enterprise Edition. Currently accessed the report page accessed before saving in a quick access, so these pages can be distributed to other users. This is much more faster than reprocessing the entire report.
Integrated .NET application to Crystal Enterprise Edition
Crystal Enterprise Edition can be merged into one .NET application using SOAP or COM. This depends on the methods used by the crystal enterprise version, and different functions can be found.
Calling the Crystal Enterprise Edition through the SOAP allows us to get the report list then view the report via the Web Form Viewer or the Windows Form Viewer Control.
Crystal Enterprise also released a complete COM-based object model to provide more integrated methods. This COM-based SDK provides a separate entrance for Crystal Enterprise Web services. This object model encapsulates all calls to output a list of reports, control processing, and distribution reports, view reports and conduct regular interactions with crystal services.
C) ACTIVE Repots
The Active Reports .NET version from Data Dynamics can generate a report using the Visual Studio Editor write C # or Visual Basic .NET. Active Reports can view in a web browser. The Active Reports component contains an ASP.NET server-side control to set an optional web client viewer, and provide paging display, full-text retrieval, content table, and custom toolbar's Windows Forms Viewer Controls. Because Active Reports is not the default item of Visual Studio, we need to look at the main features it provides. Features:
Support ASP.NET
Active Reports can be used in web applications via ASP.NET server-side controls. This control supports Web reports using HTML, ActiveX, .NET, and PDF readers. The Web Viewer Control allows quick view of Active Report on the Web and printing capabilities using the ActiveX Viewer and the Acrobat Reader Viewer. The RPX file HTTP process allows developers to simply put a report file on the web server without writing any code and display it to the Internet user with HTML or PDF format.
The Visual Studio .NET editor with Visual Studio .NET integrates Microsoft can be used to write C # or VB.NET codes from defined reports, and can generate reports. Report Create API provides running time-time access to report objects. The report wants to help generate simple and fast reports. The end user designer can be placed in the development of applications and providing report editing capabilities for end users. Designer components can be displayed from definitions.
Configure Simplified Report Engine Configuration is a separately controlled powerful specified configuration set. The configuration set can be distributed using XCOPY or put it in a global configuration cache (GAC). The Professional version contains HTTP processing and server-side web controls provided for ASP.NET reports.
There are two types of licenses Active Reports: Professional and Standard Edition. Choosing the right way depends on cost and program demand. Terminal User Report Viewer, Integrated ASP.NET, HTTP Processing, and Web Viewer Controls are the main features of the Active Reports Professional relative to the standard version.
d) SQL Report Services
SQL Server Report Services is a comprehensive server-based solution that allows you to create, manage, and submit traditional (paper-oriented) reports and web-based interactive reports. As an integral part of the Microsoft Business Intelligence Architecture, the report service combines SQL Server data management capabilities and familiar Microsoft's familiar Microsoft's OFFIC system applications, by submitting real-time information to support day processing and decision drivers. Although the SQL Server Report Services is integrated with SQL Server, this does not mean that the data source of the report must be SQL Server, which can be Oracle, DB2, Informix, and Sybase, etc..
Report services offer two versions: Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition. Enterprise Edition provides more features, such as Web Farm configuration, security extension API, support more than 4 CPUs, support more than 2G memory, etc.
Integrated XML
All reports and data sources are saved in an XML file. This allows developers to provide greater flexibility when generating dynamic reports. Report Designer is integrated in a Visual Studio .NET environment. Report developers can create publishing reports using Microsoft or third-party design tools with report definition language (RDL), and report definition languages are an XML-based industrial standard for defining reports.
Safety support is based on Windows and role certifications. There is a better security model relative to other report tools.
Output format
SQL Report Services supports Excel, TIFF, HTML, PDF, CSV, and XML formats. And also support Office Web components and web documents.
Report management
Report definitions, folders, and data sources are published and managed in a web service. The management report can be performed instant or at a specific time, and the reports are cached in order to improve performance. SQL Server Reporting Services Provides (pull) and event delivery based on events (push). Users can view reports in a web-based format or in email. Report time plan, support Web Farm, report history is some of the other main features. It also has a series of defined APIs that can be used from defined report management, protection, and display reports. Support subscriptions and delivery, integrated report designers in Visual Studio .NET, powerful report processing, etc. are some other functions.
e) contrast
Discuss now, we can come to some comparison of the functionality of the report tool. Since the crystal enterprise version focuses on the company report, here we compare the Active Reports Standard Edition, Active Reports Professional, Crystal Reports Development Edition.
The following table gives a rough comparison of different reported advantages and disadvantages. This comparison is more focusing on .NET support, rather than all functions.
