N-Tier Client Server Reporting

[Pegasus40218]

I'm trying to develop an N-Tier client-server data entry and reporting system, and I plan to use Crystal Reports for generating the reports.

Unfortunately, the application has to run across a very slow wide area network (approx 64Kbit) with the data stored on a remote SQL Server database. What I need to be able to do is build the report in memory without having the report engine directly access the database. Thus, I want to build a series of recordsets (one for each of the subreports) and pass them to Crystal to generate the final report...but I don't know how to do this...

 

[Ruairi]

as with any question you should include the versions of the softare you are using. (the answer is very different for CR7 or CR8). Are you using VB, ASP,...? Ruairi

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[dcm]

Pegasus40218: I strongly recommend that you look at using the companion product form Crystal called Seagate Info. We have clients who have successfully deployed reporting over 64k dial up lines with this system - it uses the same report design engine as Crystal Reports - but has the GREAT advantage that all processing is done on the dataserver and onlt result sets are trnsmitted to client PCs for display. This solution could save you hours of heart-ache David C. Monks
david.monks@chase-international.com

http://www.chase-international.com

Accredited Seagate Enterprise Partner

 

[Pegasus40218]

I'm using CR 8.0 (Developer).

I'm currently trying to use unbound fields and passing back a disconnected recordset from an ActiveX.EXE server running on a network server (which resides on the same LAN as the database server -- meaning the ActiveX.EXE takes care of all my data access running at LAN speeds and returns a disconnected ADO recordset to my client application [across the slow WAN]). I am then trying to pass this recordset to the report to serve as the report data source.

Unfortunately, there's apparently a hole in Seagate's developer documentation...The reference to binding fields to data sources at runtime indicate you build a recordset (my disconnected recordset SHOULD meet this requirement), then you call the [Crystal Report].AutoSetUnboundFiledSource function with the crBMTName parameter...

The exact text from the example is as follows:

Dim rs as New ADOR.Recordset
Dim Report as New Crystal Report1

Rs.Open "select * from customer", "xtreme sample database"

Report.AutoSetUnboundFieldSource crBMTName

Where I'm confused is this: where does my recordset figure in to all this? No reference is made to actually setting the record source in the binding process...? Is Crystal supposed to "magically" know what recordset to use when executing the AutoSetUnboundFieldSource procedure? ('cause it doesn't work!) I MUST be missing a step in there somewhere...

 

[Pegasus40218]

Seagate Tech Support referred me to an online article...

"Using Data Definition (TTX) files to pass an ADO recordset to a Crystal Report"

A cursory reading would indicate that this will accomplish what I am setting out to do.

I appreciate the efforts of those who tried to help.