SQL Server Reporting Services
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS ) is a server -based report generation system from Microsoft. It can be used for the preparation and production of various types of interactive generation or prefabricated reports. Administration is performed through a web interface. Reporting Services provides a web - based interface that supports the development of its own reporting applications.
SSRS competes with Crystal Reports and other business intelligence tools; it is included in the Express, Workgroup, Standard, and Enterprise editions of Microsoft SQL Server as the installation option. The first version appeared in 2004 as an add -on to SQL Server 2000.
In SSRS reports in the Report Definition Language (RDL), an XML markup language to be defined. Reports can be designed using recent versions of Microsoft Visual Studio by installing the Business Intelligence Projects plug-ins; a simplified way that does not offer the full functionality of Visual Studio that is included with the product Report Builder. Based on the RDL texts can reports in a number of formats are generated, including Excel, PDF, CSV, XML, TIFF and other image formats, as well as an HTML Web Archive. SQL Server 2008 also supports Microsoft Word (DOC ) format. Other output formats are offered by third-party report generators.
Users can work directly with the Report Server Web service, or instead use Report Manager, a web application, which in turn communicates with the Report Server. With Report Manager, users can view and subscribe to reports and manage reports, data sources and security settings. Reports can be sent via email or placed on shared folders in a file system. The security is role- based and can be at the level of individual objects ( Report, data source), folders such objects, or be defined globally for all objects. The roles can be inherited and overloaded.
Reports can be generated on a regular basis with the "Subscriptions ". A special feature is the data-driven subscriptions that allow it to take out the amount of generated reports dynamically with their parameters the database itself. (This could, for example, the task: Create for each customer who has ordered something in the previous month, a report and send this report to the officer responsible for these customers realize ).
In addition to the stand-alone mode written here, the report server can alternatively be operated in SharePoint integrated mode. This assumes the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server to manage the reports and the visualization within the SharePoint portal.
In addition to the autonomous report server that is part of the SQL Server extradition, RDL reports can also be viewed in Report Viewer via the Web or Windows Forms. This report can be embedded directly into web pages or. NET applications. ReportViewer Reports can be processed either locally on the server, or.
Ad hoc reports are supported starting with version 2005: The developer designs a report schema and installed it on the reporting server, where the user can select relevant fields or data elements, and so can generate reports. Users can download the reports locally as incurred.