Looking for a good web based reporting tool 2

[ddiamond]

I'm not quite sure which forum to post in because this question crosses many forums. In any case I'll start with this forum. I'm looking for a good web based reporting tool. I'm currently considering Crystal Reports, MS Reporting Services, and Active Reports. It will need to connect to oracle and db2 on the backend. My primary concern is ease of use / small learning curve. I'm not necessarily looking for the tool that has the most features (been there, done that, don't want to do it again). Any suggestions?

 

[Catadmin]

Crystal is easier to use then SQL RS, but I've only used the PC version of Crystal, not the web version. Additionally, SQL RS can do so much more, especially with the new 2005 edition, than Crystal can. So, it's a toss up.

Either way, if you've never used any third party reporting tools before, you're in for a heck of a learning curve just from the web portion alone.

I don't know if there are eval copies of the tools available for you to see which one you like better, but you might want to check into that.



Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"The only stupid question is the one that *wasn't* asked.

 

[ddiamond]

Thanks Catadmin. Most of my non-web based reports I've written using MS Access Reports. But Access doesn't support web-based reporting, and my company has decided they want to migrate all of our reports to the web. For web-based reporting I've used a complex reporting tool called Actuate. But Actuate is over kill for most of our reports, and takes a long time to develop in because of its complexity. That is why I am looking for a new web-based reporting tool. Hopefully one that is easier to use than Actuate.

 

[xlbo]

RS has a gui fairly similar to Access - if you are used to Access, I would certainly recommend RS.

 

[KingfisherINC]

I agree that SQL RS is probably closer to Access. I also agree that neither are super easy to get into.

SQL RS is probably going to be cheaper than Crystal unless you stick with Crystal's "free" 5 user license.

Catadmin - What do you see that RS offers that Crystal does not, other than nested sub-reports? - I'm not that familiar with SQL RS. - Thanks.

Kingfisher

 

[ddiamond]

SQL RS is probably going to be cheaper than Crystal unless you stick with Crystal's "free" 5 user license.

SQL RS is cheaper if you are using it with SQL Server. If you plan on using it with other databases, I believe you need to buy a corporate license. In that case is it still cheaper?

 

[Sheco]

The deal with the licensing is that you've got to have a copy of SQL Server.

So even if all of your data comes via ODBC/OLEDB from Oracle or DB2 or whatever, you still need MSSQL running for Reporting Services.

 

[ddiamond]

Can MSSQL be sitting on a different server than SQL RS? We do have a copy of SQL Server.

 

[Sheco]

The "fine print" for SQL 2000 implied that you needed a SQL Server license for each machine upon which components of the Reporting Services were installed. So if you have the database on one box but the web application on another then it seemed like you would need 2 copies.

But now it seems they took that page down, I can't find it anywhere on the microsoft site... only stuff for 2005 now.

 

[Catadmin]

What SQL RS offers which Crystal doesn't (at least in the desktop version of Crystal. Don't have experience with the webbased version) is:

Subscriptions. Reports can be emailed straight from the report server to subscribing users.

Can background code for the report itself using VBScript / Visual Basic. It's not limited to the brief expressions Crystal allows.

You don't have to worry about that stupid database/table mapping screen with RS. RS works off of SQL which automatically takes care of all your table relationships (since they already exist) and you don't have to manually tell the report software what table connects to what other table.

The ability to have RS execute a stored procedure in its dataset instead of writing up your code in the actual report. (less chance of the report being hacked).

The export abilities of RS seem better and wider spread than those of Crystal.

Because the RS designer is based off the Visual Studio platform, there seems a lot less likely chance it'll crash or not render reports because of an old .dll file or some such nonsense. The developer interface just feels more solid to me.

Lots and lots and lots of nifty tools in SQL RS 2005!!!!! WHOO HOOO! (I'm a sucker for gimmicks. @=)

There are other things, but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.



Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"The only stupid question is the one that *wasn't* asked.

 

[garyw5]

Hi
Just a quick question about SQL Reporting Services. Can it generate dynamic reporting at runtime? I need to add an unknown number of subreports that are not generated until runtime. I have not found how to do this with Crystal Ver. 10. Does anyone know of a good reporting tool that could easily do this functionality?
Thanks

 

[Catadmin]

You can do this with RS simply by creating stored procedures in the SQL database which run off of dynamic sql. Or, I've been told, you can do it as a WebService and send in your parameters via VB.

Either way, remember the more dynamic you make something, the bigger of a performance hit you take when it is generated, no matter what reporting tool you're using.

Also, SQL RS 2005 has enabled Ad-Hoc reporting so End Users can create their own reports off of existing data sources on the fly. A plus if you want to get the power users off your back. @=)



Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"No, no. Yes. No, I tried that. Yes, both ways. No, I don't know. No again. Are there any more questions?"
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