Better than Crystal? 2

[mrtroy]

Is this better than Crystal for report authoring and distribution?

 

[xlbo]

Depends what your data sources and reports look like. They both have good and not so good points.

From what I've seen, the distribution part of this tool is very powerful but the most compelling argument for using it is the (lack of) cost compared with other BI products. Because it is packaged with SQL Server and is a thin client (web based) front end) app, there are no licensing costs etc - which for Crystal / BOBJ can be pretty hefty

Rgds, Geoff

"Errors have been made....Others will be blamed"

Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question

 

[Catadmin]

I actually like Crystal better from a report development perspective. CR is intuitive and I learned it in 3 days. Of course, I didn't have to worry about learning the web publishing part of CR.

I don't like RS's pre-formatted report designs. I prefer to figure out where I want my columns and what subtotals I want (instead of using the prefab "Subtotal columns" choice that the wizard gives you). The Report Designer in SQL RS is very difficult to use without a help file. I would definately recommend getting a Reporting Services book from a local bookstore also. The help file is nearly inaccessible from a word search point of view and no where near as useful as the SQL Server Books Online.

That being said, RS has much more functionality than I've experienced with Crystal. It just seems much more robust. There are things, I'm convinced, that you can do in Crystal that you can't do in RS, but the reverse is true as well. And RS has that wonderful capability of nesting tables, matrices, and list boxes that is finally starting to prove its worth to me.

The question, I guess, ends up being "is the functionality and robustness of the program worth spending the weeks/months/years it'll take you to learn it"? If you'd rather stick with something that doesn't take a PHD to understand, then definately go with CR.

On the other hand, if you like a challenge, RS is definately that.

Hopefully, the menus, the help file and all other things that I currently "hate" about RS will be resolved in the release coming out with SQL Server 2k5.

Catadmin




Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"If a person is Microsoft Certified, does that mean that Microsoft pays the bills for the funny white jackets that tie in the back???

 

[JayKusch]

Here is a pretty good comparison/contract between the two reporting platforms.

http://baadd.org/uploads/SQL Reporting Services vs Crystal Reports comparative analysis.pdf

I am also going to post this as a FAQ.

Thanks

J. Kusch

 

[Catadmin]

WHOOHOO!

You go, Jay!

Thanks for digging that up.



Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"If a person is Microsoft Certified, does that mean that Microsoft pays the bills for the funny white jackets that tie in the back???

 

[vidru]

Here are a couple more comparisons:

http://www.crystalreportsbook.com/SSRSandCR_ExecSummary.asp

http://www.kenhamady.com/ssrscomp.pdf

-dave

 

[Catadmin]

AHA! That's good too!

Thanks, Dave!



Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"If a person is Microsoft Certified, does that mean that Microsoft pays the bills for the funny white jackets that tie in the back???

 

[JayKusch]

Morning Vidru ...

Can I put those fine links in the FAQ we just created?

Thanks

J. Kusch

 

[vidru]

Absolutely, Jay. If I find more, I'll post them here.

-dave

 

[SQLBI]

Because it is packaged with SQL Server and is a thin client (web based) front end) app, there are no licensing costs etc -

Just to add a caveat to this, i too assumed RS was "license free" however this is only true for individuals who receive scheduled reports via email. If an individual requires access to RS via the Web GUI to run the reports of their choosing, they need a SQL 2k CAL... +£100 so it can work out expensive!

Cheers,
Leigh

"Give a man a fish and he can feed himself for a day..."
Give him the means to catch his own fish and he can really annoy his girlfriend by spending all his spare time fishing!

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[xlbo]

was thinking more of corporate sites where they already have SQL Server and therefore a copy of RS by default - we have developed a little web app that takes the place of teh GUI so all people do is go and retrieve pre-run reports from certain URLs...

Rgds, Geoff

We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colours but they all live in the same box.

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