Tim Leung SQL Bits October 2007

Features and Advantages Architecture Installation Creating Reports

Cost – Free! Included as part of SQL2005 Web based solution making deployment simple Reports viewable from browsers, Win/Web

Controls Data can come from various data sources Report types include tabular, matrix,

charts/graphs, and interactive drill down reports Subscription capabilities through email/file share Output formats: HTML, PDF, TIFF, XLS, CSV, XML Report Caching/Snapshots for performance

Report Builder enables end users to create their own reports

Deployed to users using ‘Click Once’ technology

Start report builder using browserhttp://<server>/reportserver/reportbuilder/reportbuilder.application

A report model must be built beforehand – this is not a job for the end user

The Report Server can be managed through a web based ‘Report Manager’

The default address for SQL Express is:http://localhost/reports$SQLExpress

Reports can also be managed by connecting via Management Studio

Command line tools are also available. These include rs.exe, rsconfig.exe

Demo…

Reports are created in Report Definition Language (RDL).

It is well documented XML structure RS is based on a web service architecture 2 SQL Databases Report Server/Report

Use CodeSmith to automatically generate your reports

Report Processor

IIS – (Internet Information Services)

Reporting Service Web Service

Data Processing Extensions

Delivery Extensions

Rendering Extensions

Scheduling Delivery Processor

Reporting Services

SQL Server

Reportdb ReportdbTempDB

SQL Server Agent

Windows authentication is used. Report Server is managed on a role basis –

there are several predefined roles Consider using SSL to encrypt report traffic You can set up security at the IIS Virtual

Directory level Security can also be set at the DataSource

level

There are many security considerations when deploying reports over the Internet. Report Manager is not designed for use in this scenario.

Run SQL Server Setup to installdownload SQLExpress with Advanced Services/Toolkit

Prerequisites:IIS, ASP.Net, .Net Framework 2.0, SSL (Optional)

You can install RS in a web farm Setup will upgrade a RS2k installation Multiple Installations require separate SQL

instances

Install AdventureWorks and download the free report packs from Microsoft

If Reporting Services fails to work, make sure to check here

Reports are created with Visual Studio or the Business Intelligence Dev Studio (BIDS)

The Report Wizard is a good place to start Demo...

Create reusable styles and templates in order to save time

Standard .Net formatting is used in RS Beware that formatting is data type

specific It’s a good idea to learn some of the

standard formats C for currency N for numbers F for fixed point

Most attributes can be controlled using expressions. 2 useful functions are:- IIF( Condition,TrueValue,FalseValue)

- Switch( Fields!profit.Value < 1,"red", Fields!profit.Value > 0, "Green", Fields!profit.Value > 100, "blue")

Expressions are an essential part of writing good reports

Add Styles (StyleTemplates.xml):\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\PrivateAssemblies\Business Intelligence Wizards\Reports\Styles

Add Templates:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\PrivateAssemblies\ProjectItems\ReportProject

Report Parameters can be added to accept user input

UI elements include textboxes, checkbox lists and calendar controls

Cascading parameters can be created. This is where one parameter value causes another parameter list to be populated with related values

To use SP’s, set the DataSource to the SP Name

To pass report parameters to the stored procedure, mappings must be set up

Remember also to change the ‘command type’ from text to stored procedure

Beware that changing the Stored Procedure Name will likely clear the parameter mappings

Report Manager or rs.exe can be used to deploy reports

TextBoxes contain link and culture settings Use snapshots and caching to help

performance

Features and Advantages Architecture Installation Creating Reports

Newsgroups:

microsoft.public.sqlserver.reportingsvcs Samples

Microsoft Report Packs www.vbug.com tim@vbug.co.uk