Reporting

[Kalisto]

I have been asked to find a way of getting some simple reports about my database (such as can be achieved using crystal in Access). What tools are out there, and more importantly, which of those tools would people here recommend for ease of use?

(I can google all day long, and will do so, but one receommend or warning is worth at least a days aggravation when it comes to downlaoding and setting up such a system)

K

 

[techninut]

If you are already accustom to Crystal and if you already have the software then why would you not use it for SQL as well ??

T

 

[Kalisto]

I am not accustomed to Crystal, I was wondering if there was a de-facto market leader or pariah before I go saying We need to get this, and spend X days time learning how to use it!

Thanks anyway

 

[Catadmin]

Crystal is, IMHO, easier to use than SQL Reporting Services. There are, I believe, other reporting tools out there, but these are the only two I am familiar with.

I would advise Crystal because you can design as you go rather than SQL which uses the Access Reports interface, designs a pre-fab report, then makes you go back in and fix all the problems you have later on. It's not terribly customizable. Crystal is. Both work on pulling your data from the way the tables are joined. So, if your joins are wrong, you get the wrong data. @=)

That's my two cents.



Catadmin - MCDBA, MCSA
"Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean the universe *isn't* out to get me!"

 

[SQLBill]

I use Crystal Reports (8.5 version) and like it.

What I do is create the query in SQL Server as a stored procedure and use Crystal to pass the parameters, execute the stored procedure and format the results into a report.

-SQLBill



Posting advice: FAQ481-4875