The document outlines the features and functionalities of SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, highlighting its capabilities for traditional and interactive reporting, integration with Microsoft applications, and support for various data types. It details the architecture of reporting services, including report authoring, management, delivery, and the introduction of the Report Builder tool aimed at enabling business users to create ad-hoc reports. Key enhancements include improved interactivity, visualization options, and better performance, addressing user feedback and providing a more comprehensive reporting solution.

1. SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Bala Subra [email_address]

2. Executive Summary Delivered through: Traditional and interactive reports Scalable, manageable and embeddable server infrastructure Integration with SharePoint, Office applications, browser and other familiar tools Single platform and tools for all types of structured data (relational, hierarchical, multidimensional) Product enabling employees at all levels of an organization to realize the promise of BI and to promote better decision making

3. BI User Profiles Information Consumers Information Explorers 5-10% of users 15-25% of users 65-80% of users Analysts SQL Server Reporting Services SQL Server Analysis Services

4. Reporting Services Architecture SQL Server Catalog Report Server Delivery Delivery Targets (E-mail, File share, Custom) Security Services (NT, Passport, Custom) Security Data Sources (SQL, OLE DB, ODBC, Oracle, Custom) Output Formats (HTML, Excel, PDF, Custom) Report Processing Browser Management Custom App URL WMI Web Service Data Retrieval Rendering

5. Reporting Services Architecture

6. Business Scenarios Enterprise Reporting In-house reports (Sales, Finance, HR) Manageability, portal and LOB integration Embedded Reporting Report processing included in applications Extensible, embeddable architecture B2B Reporting Partner reporting via extranets, Internet Data isolation, extensible security

7. Reporting Lifecycle SQL Server Reporting Services supports the full reporting lifecycle, including Authoring, Management and Delivery Authoring Management Delivery

8. Report Authoring Report Designer Integrated with Visual Studio .NET 2003 Powerful, XML Report Definition Language (RDL) Freeform / Table / Matrix / Chart Parameters (Dynamic, Hierarchical) Sorting / Filtering / Grouping / Aggregates Interactivity (Drill-down, Drill-through) Full VB.NET Expression Language Published RDL definition to enable 3rd parties to create custom authoring tools Extensible query execution architecture SQL Server / Analysis Services OLE DB / ODBC / Oracle

9. Report Management Web Service APIs for management Web management user interface Report Management Functions Report Metadata (Name, Description, Connections, Credentials, Parameters) Scheduling integrated with SQL Server Agent Execution properties (live, cache or snapshot) History of prior executions Extensible, role-based security architecture

10. Report Delivery Single report definition can be rendered to diverse output formats Web Formats (HTML 4, HTML 3.2, HTML w/OWC) Print Formats (TIFF, RTF, PDF) Data Formats (Excel, XML, CSV) Personalized and administrator defined subscription and delivery Ability to select output formats per subscription Can deliver links as well as rendered reports Data-driven subscriptions for personal delivery Extensible delivery provider architecture E-mail, File System, Custom

11. Reporting Services Terminology Data Source – a database Dataset – a query against a data source Data Region – an item that displays repeated rows of data Types of Data Regions Table – a banded, tabular report Matrix – a cross-tab (or pivot table) report List – data arranged in free-form fashion Chart – a graph

12. Creating Reporting Services Project Creating a Report Creating a Group Interactive Sorting Creating Drill-Down Reports

13. Calculations & Formatting Reporting Services uses VB-like expressions You can use standard +. -, *, /, mod operators String concatenation with & (don’t use +) Aggregate functions: Sum, Count, Avg, Min, Max, First, Last, etc. Also supported: IIf(), Len(), Switch()

14. Expressions Fields to access values from current row e.g. =Fields!LastName.Value Globals to access global report data e.g. =Globals!PageNumber User to access info about authenticated user running the report e.g. =User!UserID; =User!Language

15. Expressions Parameters to access value of input parameters e.g., =Parameters!Country.Value ReportItems to access values from other sections of report e.g.= ReportItems!txtQuantity.Value *

16. Using Custom Code You can write your own VB functions and include them in the Code tab of the Report|Report Properties dialog Visual Basic is the only language supported by SSRS in the code window You can also develop custom assemblies that you can call from reports Assemblies can be developed in any .NET language You have to follow a number of steps to reference, deploy, and access your assemblies

17. Custom Code Example Public Function ColumnSel (ByVal parameter as Parameter, ByVal ColID as integer) as Boolean If parameter.IsMultiValue then For i as integer = 0 to parameter.Count-1 If val(parameter.Value(i)) = ColID then Return True End If Next Return False Else Return False End If Return False End Function

18. Formatting Fields Conditional Formatting Use IIf, Switch, or a custom function as value for property in property sheet You can do this for textboxes and table rows (sections of a report) Need to display sales over $1,000 bolded and in green

19. Bala Subra

20. Themes Core Product Enhancements Extend features based on feedback from SQL2K version Incremental enhancements, performance and scalability Tighter Integration Strengthen SQL Server end-to-end BI scenarios Tighter integration with Office and SharePoint Developer Focus Unparalleled integration for the Visual Studio developer Freely redistributable Windows and ASP.NET controls Empowering End Users Report Builder enables end-user reporting scenarios Increased interactivity

21. What’s new in 2005 Report Builder VS Integration VS Controls Interactive Sort Multi-valued parameters Parameter Date Picker Management Studio Integration MDX Query builder Configuration Tool Custom Report Item Floating headers Printing from IE (SP2) Web Parts (SP2) 64 bit Support Multi-instance Support Expression builder enhancements

22. Bala Subra

23. Most Requested Items Not in 2005 Rich Text support RTF/Doc rendering PPT rendering Shared Styles (Styles sheets) Templates Font embedding in PDF Many Chart enhancement (Same as SP2) Heterogeneous Join Edit in Preview

24. Rich Client Printing Direct routing of print jobs without needing to export Small ActiveX control downloaded via browser Select page range, orientation, margins Preview page output Server enhancements for performance

25. Enhanced Expression Editor Available for all expressions in VS Report Designer List of available VB.NET functions Inline parameter information Statement completion Real-time syntax checking

26. Multi-Valued Parameters Report developer can specify any parameter is multi-valued Report processing constructs SQL or MDX syntax Multiple default values also supported Value sets can passed via URL or SOAP API

27. Date Picker Parameters Calendar control for choosing dates Localized and Globalized Windows and Web support

28. Interactive Sort Report author can add ability for end user to resort data within data regions Resorting happens without re-querying the database Support for multi column and for nested / grouped sort

29. Floating Headers New type of interactivity similar to freeze panes in Excel Works Horizontally and Vertically Table header Matrix column and row headers Table columns Must be continuous columns anchored on the right or left

30. MDX Query Builder MDX and data mining query builders MDX parameter support Member extended properties Support for server aggregates

31. Custom Report Item Enables ISVs and Developers to add custom visualizations to a report Primary scenario is enhanced charting Additional chart types Maps Gauges Supports interactivity Actions Sort Supports all data region features Filter Grouping Group Filters Etc… The Report Designer supports a conversion API Currently limited to images Future plans for all report item types

32. Management Studio Integration Single point of management for all SQL Server components Superset of Report Manager functions Script generation from property dialogs

33. Server Configuration Tool Graphical configuration tool for Report Server Database Settings Virtual Directories E-Mail Key Management

34. SharePoint Web Parts Report Explorer provides browsing of server namespace and subscription Report Viewer used to view reports Parts can be connected or used standalone Works in both SPS and WSS

35. Visual Studio Integration Report design completely integrated with Visual Studio language projects Natural extension of VS data functionality Included in VS Pro and above

36. Report Controls Controls make it easy to embed reporting functionality into applications Windows Forms (rich client) and Web Forms (ASP.NET) control Local processing mode (no server) or connected server mode

37. Report Builder A new ad-hoc report design tool for Reporting Services Targeted at business users who want to find and share answers to interesting questions Driven from a business model of the data so users do not need to understand the underlying data structures Fully integrated with Reporting Services and delivered in SQL Server 2005

38. Why Report Builder? Report Viewer Report Builder Report Designer Report Consumers Business Users Power Users Developers

39. What Report Builder is not… A replacement for Pivot Tables Can be used for some data slice and dice but not specifically designed for this capability An analytical client No support for advanced financial calculations, what ifs, writebacks, financial or business modeling, etc. A developer-focused design tool No nested data regions, freeform layout, multiple queries, conditional formatting, or custom code An HTML-based design tool Report Builder is a WinForms (.NET Framework) application

40. Report Builder Architecture SQL Server Catalog Web Service / URL interface Report Server Report Builder Client Model Designer Data Sources (SQL Server, Analysis Services) Drill through report generation Query generation Report Manager Report Designer SQL Mgmt Studio

41. Report Builder Client Built on top of familiar Microsoft Office paradigms (Excel, PowerPoint) Reports built via report templates (table, matrix, chart, combinations) “ Click once” application deployed from the Report Server Users download and launch the client from Report Manager (new or existing report) Finished reports can be saved on the server

42. Report Builder Reports Report Builder reports are just like any other Reporting Services report… Report Builder reports are defined in RDL Managed by the same APIs Secured by the same APIs Except: Report Builder reports contain semantic model metadata When an Report Builder report is requested by report processing, the metadata is used to generate a query in the source language A new component on the Report Server handles the query generation

43. Infinite Drill Automatic generation of new drillthrough reports allows users to explore data along model navigation paths Queries for navigation reports are generated on the fly, passing the context of the user’s current “location” Users can keep drilling as long as there is a path to follow from the current item Custom reports can be specified for model items Generated navigation reports are not saved unless the user explicitly saves them

44. Report Builder Model Designer Hosted in Visual Studio (new project type) For editing models used by Report Builder Auto-generation of models from data sources

45. Model Design Model Designer is interface for designing/editing a model New project type in BI Development Studio Define fields and roles Define calculated fields Organize model Models can be auto-generated in Model Designer or on the Report Server Generates entities, fields and roles based on source metadata Auto-generation against SQL Server and Analysis Services databases

46. Model Designer

47. Report Models Models define entities, fields and roles available for Report Builder Models reference a data source (either SQL Server or Analysis Services) Models are stored in the Report Server as a new item type Includes new management APIs Published models can be secured Items within models (entities, fields, roles) can also be secured Users only see items they have permissions to see Model security and management through SQL Server Management Studio

48. Report Builder vs. Report Designer Can work with reports built in Report Builder Cannot import Report Designer reports Integrated into Visual Studio Click-once application, easy to deploy and manage Free-form (nested, banded) reports Reports built on templates Native queries (SQL, OLE DB, XML/A, ODBC, Oracle) Auto-generates queries using semantic layer on top of the source Managed reports Ad hoc reports Targeted at IT pros and developers Targeted at business users Report Designer Report Builder

49. Wrap-up Report Builder is… a new ad hoc report design tool for SQL Server Reporting Services targeted at business users who want to find and share answers to interesting questions driven from a business model of the data so users do not need to understand the underlying data structures is fully integrated with SQL Server Reporting Services and delivered in SQL Server 2005

50. SQL Server Report Builder Bala Subra

51. Thank You!