Current Crystal Reports and Current SSRS 2

[VE]

Hi,

I'm finding a lot of older comparisons between Crystal Reports and SSRS, but nothing that compares the current versions. With SSRS being a newer product I would rather not compare CR with the first couple of versions of SSRS.

I have been using CR for 10 years; the company I work for is looking at a system that uses SSRS as a reporting tool. I am trying to get an idea of what the learning curve will be.

Those of you who have converted from CR to SSRS, how big of a change was it? How long did it take to get your SSRS skills to the level of your CR skills? Assuming the person does have some SQL experience.

Thank you for your help.

 

[RiverGuy]

I started using SSRS in 2005 or 2006. I haven't used CR much since 2007. SSRS has changed a little for 2008 over 2005. I would estimate the learning curve would be slightly steeper for SSRS 2008 over 2005 as the Tablix concept is slightly more confusing.

But regardless, SSRS isn't a difficult product to learn. If you write reports every day, you should be able to get up to speed within a month. You might appreciate how SSRS is expression based--you can enter a formula directly in each cell or textbox in your report if you wish. I'm guessing you would spend more time learning the formatting and behavior functionality over the data-access aspect.

 

[VE]

Thank you for your help, I've seen SSRS 2005 and the formating did seem really different. One month ramp up is very encouraging.

 

[RiverGuy]

I would actually hope you're going to be working with 2008 over 2005. The charting alone is worth it. Although I believe you can purchase 3rd party charting products for 2005, though I've never worked with any.

 

[Peager]

I made the switch from CR to SSRS 2005 and then on to 2008. The only thing I miss about CR is the ability to change the number of columns in different sections of the report. The layout tools are not quite as mature with SSRS. You can't drag and drop in the preview like you can with CR. The big thing is to recognize that SSRS is a new tool and don't try to make it work like CR... learn it's own unique tricks and you will be a happy camper.