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Getting data from a web server to the client in a printable report format online is often a challenge.
This white paper will:
* Explain the problems associated with web reporting
* Explain how ActiveReports for .NET works
* Explain how ActiveReports for .NET solves web reporting problems
and ActiveReports(TM) for .NET
The Problem
In a time when e-business is no longer a buzzword but a normal way to maximize business, companies arc constantly looking for ways to make information about their services and products readily available online.
Suppose you work for a small bank that wants to implement a webbased service that allowed clients to have full online access to their accounts. Such access would include searching previous transactions, checking the current account balances and generating custom printable reports of specific transactions in designated time periods, based on parameters supplied by the client. The bank already keeps information about accounts and account transactions in a database. That leaves a couple of questions open:
1. How will the bank make account information available to the client in multiple output formats which will allow high-quality viewing and printing capability?
2. How will the bank make this service available quickly and cost-efficiently?
In the pursuit of efficient business process, some turn to Business Intelligence solutions which arc custom tailored to their needs. Many companies, however, cannot afford the costs associated with such enterprise solutions. In such a case, there generally are three options available:
1. Use the built-in reporting capabilities of the current database program.
2. Try to develop a reporting solution to meet the company's specific needs.
3. Purchase a third-party software component which can be customized to provide the needed reporting capabilities.
The built-in reporting capabilities of a database program arc often limited to creating basic and static reports. Much of the time, it is difficult to use such a program to create a flexible and complex report layout for constantly changing data.
Even if you are able to create the report format you need, it is difficult to get the report in a format that can be viewed on the web and that mirrors the format you created. Even though its output is...