Overview

A new edition of this title is available, ISBN-10: 0321580273 ISBN-13: 9780321580276   The first in a two-book series about Business Intelligence and Reporting Technology, BIRT: A Field Guide to Reporting introduces reporting to a broad base of users. Built on the Eclipse platform, this exciting technology makes it possible for programmers and non-programmers to build and deploy complex reports with minimal effort. BIRT: A Field Guide to Reporting presents information about how to develop and customize reports of progressive complexity using BIRT Report Designer. This tool was designed from the ground up for Web applications and uses a Web page-oriented design metaphor in contrast to older banded report writers that were developed before the advent of the Internet. This unique approach to report creation makes BIRT an approachable and effective tool for developers of all levels. Report designs discussed include Listing reports that include sorting, grouping, and totals Summary reports, such as top N reports Charts, including pie, line, bar, and gauge charts Master-detail reports Other topics discussed include Understanding the technology Planning report designs Accessing data Laying out and formatting reports Building charts Enhancing reports with interactive viewing, shared libraries, and localized text Preparing reports for international data

Full Product Details

Author:   Diana Peh ,  Alethea Hannemann ,  Nola Hague ,  Nola Hague
Publisher:   Pearson Education (US)
Imprint:   Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 17.60cm , Height: 3.20cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.988kg
ISBN:  

9780321442598

ISBN 10:   0321442598
Pages:   704
Publication Date:   02 November 2006
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Foreword xviiPreface xxi Acknowledgments xxviiPart I Installing BIRT 1Chapter 1 Prerequisites for BIRT 3Requirements for the BIRT report designers 3 About installing required software 5 BIRT RCP Report Designer software requirements 5 BIRT Report Designer Full Eclipse Install software requirements 5 BIRT Report Designer software requirements 6 About types of BIRT builds 7 Chapter 2 Installing a BIRT Report Designer 9Installing BIRT Report Designer 10 Downloading and installing BIRT Report Designer 10 Installing the auxiliary file for BIRT Report Designer 10 Testing the BIRT Report Designer installation 11 Installing BIRT Report Designer Full Eclipse Install 11 Downloading and installing BIRT Report Designer Full Eclipse Install 11 Installing the auxiliary file for BIRT Report Designer 12 Installing BIRT RCP Report Designer 12 Downloading and installing BIRT RCP Report Designer 13 Installing the auxiliary file for BIRT Report Designer 13 Testing the BIRT RCP Report Designer installation 14 Troubleshooting installation problems 14 Avoiding cache conflicts after you install a BIRT report designer 14 Specifying which Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to use when you start a BIRT report designer 15 Installing a language pack 15 Chapter 3 Updating a BIRT Installation 17Using the Eclipse Update Manager to update BIRT Report Designer installation 17 Updating BIRT RCP Report Designer installation 18 Part II Getting Started 19Chapter 4 Learning the Basics 21About BIRT reports 21 Overview of the report design process 21 About the report design environment 23 Starting BIRT Report Designer 24 Report design views 26 Report design files 29 Report output formats 30 Previewing a report 31 Tutorial 1: Building a simple listing report 32 Task 1: Create a new project 32 Task 2: Create a new report 34 Task 3: Build a data source 36 Task 4: Build a data set 37 Task 5: Lay out the report 40 Task 6: Sort the data 43 Task 7: Format the report 44 Task 8: Create a report title 50 Next steps 52 Chapter 5 Planning Your Report 53Identifying the content of the report 54 Determining how the report will be viewed 55 Considering international reporting requirements 56 Deciding the layout and format of the report 56 Drawing a mock-up 58 Considering reuse of report components 58 Managing report design resources 59 Deciding how the report will be deployed 59 Part III Accessing and Binding Data 61Chapter 6 Connecting to a Data Source 63Working with data sources 64 Accessing data using JDBC 67 Preparing to access a database 67 Creating a JDBC data source 67 Managing JDBC drivers 69 Restoring JDBC drivers 72 Accessing data in text files 73 Preparing to access your text file 73 Creating a flat file data source 75 Accessing XML data 76 Preparing to access XML data 76 Creating an XML data source 76 Setting connection properties when a report runs 77 Troubleshooting data source problems 79 Chapter 7 Retrieving Data 81Creating a BIRT data set 81 Changing the data source for a data set 84 Deleting a data set 84 Selecting data 85 Using a SQL query to retrieve data 85 Using a stored procedure to retrieve data 89 Specifying what data to retrieve from a text file 91 Specifying what data to retrieve from an XML data source 92 Viewing and changing output columns 96 Previewing a data set 97 Adding a computed field to a data set 98 Joining data sets 100 Using additional data set options 102 Creating a dynamic query 102 Setting data set cache preferences 103 Chapter 8 Binding Data 105Understanding column bindings 106 Descriptive names 107 Dynamic updates of calculated data 107 Creating column bindings 108 Editing and deleting column bindings 111 More about column-binding expressions 111 Part IV Designing Reports 113Chapter 9 Laying Out a Report 115Understanding the layout model 115 About the report layout elements 117 Overview of the layout process 117 Creating the sections of a report 118 Organizing elements in a grid 118 Adding rows and columns 119 Deleting rows and columns 120 Organizing elements in a table 120 Adjusting table rows and columns 123 Organizing elements in a list 123 Placing report elements 125 Placing report elements side by side 126 Inserting data set fields 127 Inserting computed fields 127 Inserting images 129 Chapter 10 Displaying Text 133Types of textual elements 133 Deciding which textual element to use 135 Using a dynamic text element 138 Using a label element 139 Using a text element 140 Applying multiple style formats in a text element 141 Combining a JavaScript expression with static text in a text element 141 Combining a value from a data set field with static text in a text element 142 Formatting dynamic values in a text element 143 Displaying data set field values that are stored as HTML text 143 Chapter 11 Formatting Report Content 145Formatting data 146 Formatting numeric data 147 Formatting date-and-time data 149 Formatting string data 150 Formatting with styles 152 Creating styles 153 Importing styles 156 Applying a style 158 Modifying a style 158 Deleting a style 158 Formatting data based on conditions 158 Creating a formatting rule 159 Modifying a formatting rule 161 Creating multiple formatting rules 162 Deleting a formatting rule 163 Alternating row colors in a table 163 Specifying alignment of content in a table or grid 165 Aligning text horizontally 165 Aligning content vertically 165 Adjusting the spacing of content in a report 166 Resizing rows and columns 168 Resizing margins, borders, and padding of elements 170 Displaying content across multiple columns 171 Specifying alternate values for display 173 Hiding elements based on conditions 175 Chapter 12 Sorting and Grouping Data 179Sorting data 180 Ways to sort data 181 Sorting string data case-insensitively 183 Grouping data 183 Grouping data by intervals 187 Sorting data at the group level 192 Creating multiple groups 195 Changing the order of groups 197 Adding group headings 199 Tutorial 2: Grouping report data 202 Task 1: Open the report design 203 Task 2: Save the report as a new file 204 Task 3: Add the credit limit field to the data set 204 Task 4: Add credit limit data to the report 205 Task 5: Group customer data by credit limit 206 Task 6: Display credit limit ranges in the group header 209 Task 7: Display aggregate information 210 Task 8: Format the report 213 Task 9: Preview the report in the BIRT report viewer 215 Task 10: Display credit limit ranges in the table of contents 216 Chapter 13 Aggregating Data 219Types of aggregate calculations 220 Placing aggregate data 222 Writing aggregate expressions 224 Accessing aggregate functions in the expression builder 226 Filtering aggregate data 227 Excluding null values from an aggregate calculation 228 Counting rows that contain unique values 228 Getting an aggregate value from another group 229 Calculating percentages 231 Creating a summary report 234 Chapter 14 Writing Expressions 237Basic concepts 238 Data types 238 Case sensitivity 238 Multiline expressions 239 Using Expression Builder 239 Manipulating numeric data 242 Computing values from multiple numeric fields 242 Converting a number to a string 244 Manipulating string data 245 Substituting string values 245 Combining values from multiple fields 246 Removing null values from combined fields 247 Getting parts of a string 247 Matching string patterns 249 Converting a string to a number 252 Manipulating date-and-time data 252 Displaying the current date 253 Getting parts of a date or time as a number 253 Calculating the time between two dates 253 Calculating a date 254 Using Boolean expressions 254 Chapter 15 Filtering Data 257Filtering opportunities 257 Specifying conditions on row retrieval 258 Filtering database data 258 Types of SQL filter conditions 259 Filtering XML data 260 Filtering data after row retrieval 262 Deciding where to filter in BIRT 262 Types of BIRT filter conditions 265 Creating a filter condition 267 Creating multiple filter conditions 272 Chapter 16 Enabling the User to Filter Data 275About report parameters 275 Planning to use report parameters 277 Ways to enable user filtering 277 Enabling the user to filter at query run time 278 Task 1: Creating a report parameter 278 Task 2: Inserting a parameter marker in the SQL query 280 Task 3: Creating a data set parameter and binding it to the report parameter 281 Enabling the user to filter after running the query 285 Task 1: Creating a report parameter 285 Task 2: Updating a filter condition when the report runs 285 Designing the presentation of report parameters 287 Providing a default value 289 Providing the user with a list of values 290 Formatting report parameter values 296 Enabling the user to specify null or blank values 297 Organizing report parameters in groups 298 Creating cascading report parameters 301 Changing the order in which report parameters appear 308 Testing the report parameters 308 Chapter 17 Building a Report That Contains Subreports 311Creating the report structure 312 Building a report with independent subreports 312 Building a report with linked subreports 313 Tutorial 3: Building a report with side-by-side subreports 316 Task 1: Create a new report 318 Task 2: Build a data source 318 Task 3: Build a data set for the customer report 318 Task 4: Build a data set for the orders subreport 320 Task 5: Build a data set for the payments subreport 322 Task 6: Create the customer master report 323 Task 7: Create the orders subreport 325 Task 8: Link the orders subreport to the customers master report 327 Task 9: Create the payments subreport 329 Task 10: Link the payments subreport to the customers master report 331 Task 11: Display only customers that have orders or payments 332 Task 12: Display the subreports next to one another 333 Task 13: Format the report 335 Chapter 18 Using a Chart in a Report 349Tutorial 4: Creating a chart 349 Task 1: Set up the report design file 350 Task 2: Add the chart to the report 351 Task 3: Providing data for a chart 353 Task 4: View the chart 356 Task 5: Updating the chart title 357 Task 6: Refine the chart appearance 359 Next steps 364 Exploring the chart builder 365 Select Chart Type 365 Select Data 366 Format Chart 367 Positioning a chart 373 Understanding types of charts 374 About area charts 375 About bar charts 376 About line charts 377 About meter charts 377 About pie charts 378 About scatter charts 378 About stock charts 379 Understanding chart output formats 379 Chapter 19 Displaying Data in Charts 381Understanding chart data concepts 381 Using expressions to set up chart series 383 Selecting a chart data set 384 Aggregating information for a chart 385 Setting up an expression in the chart builder 386 Formatting the data that an expression returns 387 Defining series expressions in different chart types 389 Defining series in an area, bar, or line chart 389 Defining series in a meter chart 392 Defining series in a pie chart 395 Defining series in a scatter chart 398 Defining series in a stock chart 400 Defining series in a combination chart 402 Sorting category series or base series data 403 Grouping category data 404 Working with data on a chart axis 405 Understanding value and category axes 406 Defining the axis data type and number format 407 Defining where one axis intersects the other 408 Defining the scale of an axis 409 Using multiple y-axes 410 Transposing the chart axes 411 Setting chart data preview preferences 412 Chapter 20 Laying Out and Formatting a Chart 415Laying out and formatting the chart area 416 Setting the background color for a chart 417 Outlining a chart 419 Setting the wall or floor color of a chart 420 Adding padding around the chart 421 Formatting the chart plot, title, and legend areas 422 Working with the plot area 425 Working with the chart title 429 Working with the legend 433 Formatting an axis 439 Working with an axis title 439 Working with axis markers 440 Working with an axis line 443 Working with axis labels 445 Formatting a series 448 Setting the series type 449 Hiding a series 449 Making a series translucent 449 Setting the color palette for a series 450 Adding and formatting a curve-fitting line 452 Stacking series 454 Working with different series types 455 Working with data points and data point labels 472 Using styles to format a chart 474 Part V Enhancing Reports 475Chapter 21 Designing a Multipage Report 477Planning the page layout 477 Controlling pagination 478 Inserting page breaks 478 Inserting page breaks in a report with multiple sections and groups 479 Inserting page breaks in a master-detail report 482 Specifying the number of rows per page 484 Customizing the master page 485 Viewing the master page 485 Designing the page header and footer 486 Displaying page numbers, the current date, and other text 486 Displaying an image 487 Specifying a header size 488 Specifying a footer size 488 Excluding header content from the first page 489 Displaying an image in the background 490 Designing the appearance of the background image 492 Positioning the background image 492 Displaying different content in a PDF and HTML report 493 Specifying page size, orientation, and margins 494 Using multiple master pages 494 Chapter 22 Adding Interactive Viewing Features 497Creating hyperlinks 497 Linking two sections in a report 498 Linking to a section in a different report 499 Linking to external content using a URI 501 Creating a table of contents 503 Adding interactive chart features 505 Adding interactivity events and actions 508 Linking a chart to a report 510 Exporting report data 511 Chapter 23 Building a Shared Report Development Framework 515Comparing report designs, libraries, and templates 516 About the report design file type 516 About the library file type 517 About the template file type 517 Sharing report elements in a library 517 Dynamic library behavior 519 Sharing styles 520 Understanding library name space 522 Designing libraries for a shared environment 522 Using a library 526 Sharing a report layout as a template 532 Developing a custom template 534 Using a custom template 538 Chapter 24 Localizing Text 541Overview of the localization process 542 Assigning a resource file to a report 543 Assigning a resource key to a label or text element 545 Changing localized text in a label or text element to static text 546 Assigning a resource key to chart text 546 Changing localized chart text to static text 548 Assigning a resource key to a report parameter 549 Editing a resource file 550 Previewing a report in different locales 550 Glossary 553Index 613

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The authors are members of the extended BIRT development team and have backgrounds in both computer science and technical writing. Collectively, they have 165 years of technical consulting, training, writing, and publishing experience about reporting, business intelligence tools, and database technologies. They have published forty-two titles on these topics through numerous editions.

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