SQL Reporting Services 2005

Overview

SSRS includes all the development and management pieces necessary to publish end user reports in HTML PDF Excel CSV

Originally released as a SQL 2000 separate add on that could be downloaded from the web, all the Reporting Server pieces are now bundled in SQL 2005.

The Reporting Services Architecture Reporting Services has a quite complex architecture. It includes Development tools Administration tools Report viewers.

There are a number of ways to get to Reporting Services programmatically,

including SOAP and WMI interfaces.

Report Server is the core engine that drives Reporting Services.

Report Manager is a Web-based administrative interface for Reporting Services.

Decides when the reports will be scheduled to run Maintaining the user profiles on the report server. View or search certain reports. Site property configuration and folder management in the report server. 

Report Designer is a developer tool for building complex reports.

Report Builder is a simplified end-user tool for building reports.

The Report Server database stores report definitions. Reports themselves can make use of data from many

different data sources.

Developers use two GUI tools for creating reports Report Designer

Graphical tool hosted within the Microsoft Visual Studio IDE. Report Designer provides a tabbed windows for Data, Layout,

and Preview that allow you to design a report interactively. You can add datasets to accommodate a new report design idea, or adjust report layout based on preview results. Also, it provides query builders, an Expression editor, and wizards to step you through the process of creating a simple report.

Report Builder Provides a simpler user interface for creating ad hoc reports,

directed primarily at business users rather than developers. Report Builder requires a developer or administrator to set up

a data model before end users can create reports.

Installation

The SSRS installation will create two new IIS sites, Reports Report Server

The Reports physical directory is located at C:\ Program Files \Microsoft SQL Server \MSSQL.3 \Reporting Services \

ReportManager.

The Report Servers directory can be found at C:\ Program Files \Microsoft SQL Server \MSSQL.3 \Reporting Services \

ReportServer.

The Reports virtual directory contains the Report Manager Web application. You can access using //your server name/Reports

Viewing Reports Searching and browsing for specific reports Configuring report viewing security Creating schedules and subscriptions Launching Report Builder for ad hoc reports

The other virtual directory, Report Server, is a web service for requesting reports without going through the Report Manager GUI. By passing arguments in the http query string, reports and options can be requested. Browsing without any arguments should generate the web page shown below.

BIDS

Actual report creation is done in a drag and drop application called Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS). BIDS is located in the Windows program group "Microsoft SQL Server 2005," "SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio." The Business Intelligence Development Studio allows for easy creation of data sources and report formatting.

SQL Server Reporting Services can be used to create end user

reports in several different formats including HTML, PDF, and Excel.

BIDS contd.. The SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio is a Visual Studio

tool for creating reports. Reports created on your local machine using BIDS can be deployed to any Reporting Server.

Report Server Project Wizard

Create a Reports Project

Add report to solution

Layout Tab – Drag and drop report items and design report format

Expression

Expression Examples in Reporting Services

 Date Functions - Use Visual Basic functions to provide date information in your report. The following expression contains the Today function, which provides the current date.

=Today()

The DateAdd function is useful for supplying a range of dates based on a single parameter.

=DateAdd(DateInterval.Month, 6, Parameters!StartDate.Value)

The following expression contains the Year function, which displays the year for a particular date.

=Year(Fields!OrderDate.Value)

String Functions

You can use Visual Basic functions to manipulate strings in your report.

You can combine more than one field by using concatenation operators and Visual Basic constants. The following

expression returns two fields, each on a separate line in the same text box.

=Fields!FirstName.Value & vbCrLf & Fields!LastName.Value

You can format dates and numbers in a string with the Format function. The following expression displays values of

the StartDate and EndDate parameters in long date format.

 

=Format(Parameters!StartDate.Value, "D") & " through " &  Format(Parameters!EndDate.Value, "D") 

=Right(Parameters!User.Value, Len(Parameters!User.Value) - InStr(Parameters!User.Value, "\"))

Conversion Functions

You can use Visual Basic functions to convert data types as needed in your report.

=CStr(Parameters!MySelection.Count)

@Parameters

After the user selects a set of values, the report processing engine constructs the correct SQL. The author can also specify a set of default values for the parameter. Developers can programmatically pass multiple parameter sets via URL Access or the Web Services API.

Points to note

Analyze the needs of the users so you know what fields they are going to need in their reports. 

Providing too little information renders the reporting service useless, but providing too much information could eventually cause performance issues as more users access reports.

Ensure you have the appropriate referential integrity in place.  Having a series of reports running on a poorly normalized database or poorly designed Analysis Services cube will cause additional headaches.