Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 8. We'll be providing a pizza dinner (or bring your own). Please
email Tamar Granor or Jim Connolly
if you plan to eat pizza, so we can make sure there’s enough.
Toni Feltman will do a Southwest Fox preview of her session “SQL
Server Reporting Services.” The session will be a three-hour precon at the
conference; this meeting features a shortened version.
Abstract: SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is the Microsoft
answer to reporting tools like Crystal Reports. The really nice thing about
SSRS is that a version is now included with SQL Server Express which is FREE.
Free is good, right? SQL Server Reporting Services is a quick and inexpensive
way for developers to create and deploy reports when using SQL Server as the
database engine. It is not difficult to use and is similar to other reporting
tools that may already be in your toolbox. There are benefits to having a
language-agnostic reporting tool such as the ability to share reports between
different applications and platforms. It also makes really good sense to have a
reporting tool tightly coupled with the data used for reporting.
Desktop applications need reporting. These applications are
being extended through other technologies such as the web and mobile. Even if
your development environment has its own reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting
Services is a great way to get query and reporting capabilities that are
available on the desktop, web and mobile device all from one code base.
You will learn:
• Where to
find and how to install SQL Server Express and SQL Server Reporting Services
• How to
use Report Designer
• Ways to
tie data to reports
• About the
native Report Output Options
• Differences
between SSRS "express" and paid versions
• Ways to
"centralize" reporting services to be used by more than one type of
client
• Ways to
render SSRS reports in Visual FoxPro
• Methods
for integrating existing report technology with SSRS reporting to create a common
look and feel between reports
Also, be
sure to mark your calendar for the return of Christof Wollenhaupt on October
13.
