Reporting in ASP.

NET
Crystal Reports 9.x
Challenges and Solutions

The 1st in a Series of Presentations on

Reporting with .NET

Don Robins
Outformations, Inc.

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 1

 Agenda

 Introductory Info (10)

 Reporting Requirements (15)
 Reporting Challenges (15)
 Reporting Solutions (25)
 BREAK (15)
 Architecture & Code Review (40)
 Traps To Avoid (5)
 Summary (5)
 Q/A (15)

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 2

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 Don Robins - dbr@[Link]

– since 1985
– custom business applications and solutions for desktop
and (more recently) the web.
– BAADD member since 1988, current VP and [Link]
SIG leader

 Outformations, Inc. – [Link]

– Collaborative design & software development practice
– Use Case based analysis and design
– Rational Unified Process (RUP) Project Management
– Collaboration tools and Project Workbook repositories
– We develop in Microsoft, Java, Open Source technologies

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 Roles
– systems analyst, lead developer, lead technical architect,
application framework integration, database designer,
project management

 Tech Skills
– [Link], HTML/Javascript, [Link]/C#, [Link],
ColdFusion, Lotus Notes, SQL7/2000, Access97/200x,
Office, FoxPro 2.x-VFP, Crystal Reports, OLE Automation

 Industries
– biotech, aeronautics, transportation, manufacturing,
human resources, import/export, medical,
pharmaceutical, legal, broadcasting, entertainment,
labor relations, land trusts, retail, real estate, financial,
publishing, technology and education

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 Reporting with xBase, FoxPro 2.x through VFP6

– Early report frameworks and templates
– Early ad-hoc reporting engines
– Early FoxFire! prototyping, development and beta tester

 Reporting with Access 2.0, 95, 97-200x

– Desktop applications and ODBC reporting

 Reporting with Dynamic HTML based reporting

– ColdFusion and ASP Classic dynamically generated HTML

 Reporting with Lotus Notes

– Notes ‘View’ based reporting

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 Share challenges faced

– Identify some complex reporting requirements
– Identify where leverage is needed with Crystal

 Share successes reached

– Share ideas of how to implement solutions
– Identify some best practices to leverage Crystal

 Share my FMR development philosophy

– Functionality
– Maintainability
– Robustness

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 We will spend time to set high level context

before examining code and architecture.

 My choices were made by trial and error.

 My solutions may not work for you in your

situation(s).

 Most issues apply regardless of platform, but no

feasibility has been performed other than in .NET

 An interactive discussion of alternatives is

welcomed during Q/A after presentation or in
email.

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 7

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Application Statistics:
Application – [Link] Database - SQL Server 2K
150+ Pages/Forms 75+ Tables in 2 DBs
150+ .NET User Controls 1000+ Fields
50+ Business Objects 500+ Stored Procedures
250+ Users in 50+ Offices 60+ SQL UDFs

Deployment Statistics:
Application Servers Database Servers
3 Development Servers 3 Development Servers
1 Staging Server 1 Staging Server
1 Production Server 1 Production DB Server

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 8

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3 Primary Reports: (see samples)

– Relatively simple narrative document

– ‘Term Sheet’ - 2 to 5 pages
– Fairly consistent layout
– Simple narrative + data

– Extremely complex narrative document

– ‘Fact Sheet’ – 10 to 60 pages
– Multiple sections and inconsistent layout and data
– Complex narrative + data

– Simple one page form style report

– ‘Faxlet’ - 1 page
– Fairly consistent form layout
– Simple narrative + data
(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 9
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1. Always launched by the user from within the

context of one parent entity.

2. Document style report generated as PDF or

Word DOC.

3. No Crystal viewer, no drill-down.

4. Must be generated, downloaded and opened in

the associated application on the desktop with
one mouse click.

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5. Must allow user to save download as a local

file.

6. Report must reflect current state of the data,

no automated batching.

7. Reports need to be launched in the

background during workflow processes,
captured and stored in the database for
retrieval on demand by users.

8. Reports must integrate with the complex

application role based, data level security.
(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 11
 [Link]-Functional

1. Application MUST use Crystal Reports

– In house developer and user knowledge of Crystal
– Already own licenses (next session)
– They understand it is ‘integrated’ with .NET

2. Output MUST emulate existing reports

– Database and application will support all data required
– No major changes in report look and feel (at inception)
– Must be highly maintainable and extendable
– Re-factoring is expected after rollout

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1. Must use the most flexible [Link] project

integration and IDE choice.

2. Must integrate with the application’s dynamic

data connectivity.

3. Must use the most maintainable, reusable and

robust data retrieval method.

4. Must support flexible and dynamic parameter

passing to reports and sub-reports.

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5. Must build large, diverse and complex reports

with varying data layouts and deliver with one
mouse click.

6. Must output to a variety of user selectable file

formats.

7. Must allow for automatic storage and user

retrieval from a row in a table.

8. Must secure the data from unauthorized users

by integrating with complex, role based,
metadata driven application security.
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THE CHALLENGES ARE NOW CLEAR.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

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OPTION #1

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OPTION #2

Figure it out…

Divide & Conquer

Leverage
Re-factor

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[Link] Integration and IDE

Visual Studio vs. Crystal 9 Studio

– VS .NET V1.0 integrated with Crystal v.8.5
– Crippled functionality from within Visual Studio
– Buy a developer license for Crystal 9

Embed RPT files in Project and bind to DLL?

– Pros and cons of embedding
– Extended reporting hooks in code behind BUT…
– Modification requires recompilation
– Drop RPT files into specified folder
– Don’t bind! No recompilation required

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 18

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Dynamic Data Connectivity

Use connections in studio at design time

– Maintain multiple connections in IDE
– Connect as needed at design time
– Save data and refresh connections at will.

Reset report object connections at runtime

– Create library of generic reporting services
– Pass report object and connection data
– Connection method iterates all master and sub-
reports resetting connections prior to generation

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 19

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Dynamic Data Connectivity Example

using [Link];
using [Link];

//Set Connection Info…

[Link] = GetNamedItem([Link], "User ID", "=", ";");
[Link] = GetNamedItem([Link], "Password", "=", ";");
[Link] = GetNamedItem([Link], "Data Source", "=", ";");
[Link] = GetNamedItem([Link], "Initial Catalog", "=", ";");

TableLogOnInfos crTableLogonInfos = new TableLogOnInfos();

TableLogOnInfo crTableLogonInfo = new TableLogOnInfo();

//Loop through each table and apply connection info...

foreach([Link] t in [Link])
{
[Link] = MyConn;
[Link](crTableLogonInfo);
[Link] = [Link];
[Link](crTableLogonInfo);
}

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Maintainable Robust Data Retrieval

Use stored procedures and SQL functions

– Avoid embedding SQL in report objects
– Create and test all required row-sets using SQL
Analyzer or equivalent tools
– Allows complex and flexible data retrieval with
simple wiring to reports
– Allows decoupling of report design from data
programming
– Allows reusability of SQL objects for like reports and
sub-reports
– Use intelligent naming conventions

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 21

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Stored Procedure Data Source Example

Open [Link]
– Show how fields are bound to columns

Open usp_rptTermSheetMaster
– Review complex construction of rowset

Note the naming convention

– Provides intuitive mapping from report to data
source and vice versa

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 22

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Dynamic Parameter Passing

Pass parameters at runtime

– Set at design time, easy to test
– Parameters can be chained into sub-reports
– Determined at runtime based on context
– User entry dialogs can gather and forward
– Passed to generic reporting service methods

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 23

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Dynamic Parameter Passing Example

SetParm(
ref [Link] pReport,
string pParmName,
string pParmValue)

ParameterValues MyValues = new ParameterValues();

ParameterDiscreteValue MyValue = new ParameterDiscreteValue();
MyValues
=[Link][pParmName].CurrentValues;
[Link] = pParmValue;
[Link](MyValue);
[Link][pParmName].ApplyCurrentValues(
MyValues);

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 24

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Large, Diverse, Complex Reports

Chunk reports to largest practical objects

– Only one level of nesting for sub-reports
– Report output as PDF can be merged (stitched)
– Use third party server components wrapped in
services
– Launch report sections separately or chained,
allowing for diverse and hierarchical report ‘sections’
– Allows unlimited size and complexity
– May not work with Crystal viewers unless separate
reports

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 25

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PDF Merge Examples w/ 3rd Party Component

Imports [Link]
Imports [Link]

_AppendAll(ByVal pages As Pages, ByVal path As String)

'Bind the file specified in 'path' to the target document in 'pages'...

Dim fileStream As New FileStream(path, [Link], [Link])
Dim reader As New BinaryReader(fileStream)
Dim buffer As Byte() = [Link](CInt([Link]))

[Link]()
reader = New BinaryReader(New MemoryStream(buffer, False))

Dim [source] As New Document(reader)

Dim i As Integer
For i = 0 To [source].[Link] - 1
[Link]([source].Pages(i))
Next i

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Output Variety Of Formats

Crystal Output Types:

– Adobe PDF
– Word DOC
– Rich Text File RTF
– Excel XLS

Maximum Control For User Review:

– Conditionally set the output type prior to generation
– Dynamically adjust HTML meta header on redirect
– User is prompted with options to save or open
– Opens with appropriate application on desktop

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Output As PDF Example

ExportToPDF(ReportDocument oRD, string TargetFileName)

//Set up output configuration

DiskFileDestinationOptions _Options = new DiskFileDestinationOptions();
_Options.DiskFileName = TargetFileName;

//Set the configuration onto the report object...

[Link] =
[Link];
[Link] =
[Link];
[Link] = _Options;
[Link] =
[Link];

//Build to PDF in output folder for user as specified in the output filename...

[Link]();

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Redirection Example

RedirectPDFToBrowserStream(Page oPage, string OutputFileName, string

OutputPDFName)

//Send the file to the user that made the request

[Link]();
[Link] = true;
[Link]("Content-Type","application/pdf");
//Default the name that it would be saved with...
[Link]("Content-Disposition", "attachment;
filename=" + OutputPDFName + ";");
//Set up the stream for the output file...
FileStream Fs = new FileStream(OutputFileName,[Link]);
long FileSize = [Link];
byte[] bBuffer = new Byte[FileSize];
[Link](bBuffer,0,Convert.ToInt32(FileSize));
[Link]();
//Stream the file back...
[Link](bBuffer);
[Link]();
[Link]();

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Storage And Retrieval From Table

Convert binary output file to byte array

– Can be contained in SQL Server IMAGE data type
– Passed into and out of stored procedures
– Create a table with report row keyed to parent
– Allows content to be stored within a database
– No need to manage files on the server
– Scales across server farms
– Piggybacks on DB backup and maintenance
– Increases size of database

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 30

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Binary File Storage Example

CREATE PROCEDURE usp_ProjectReportInsert

--Purpose: Inserts a Project Report.
(
@user_id int= null
,@proj_id int= null
,@prrp_vch_type_alias varchar(50) = null
,@prrp_img_file image = null
)

(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 31

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Integrate With System Security

Stored procedures retrieval leverages security

– Build joins as needed to support permission logic
– All complex logic maintained outside of report
objects
– If spoofed, report can launch but no data shows
– Report can contain business logic driven by meta
data passed in row-sets adjacent to content

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Integrate With System Security Example

SELECT ...
FROM ...
WHERE ...
AND
--Project Phase security REQUIRES that the
--logged user_id be linked to the project in the
-- tblproj_user_role_link table, derived by UDF()...
dbo.usf_proj_IsPermitted(@user_id, @proj_id, '') = 1

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BREAK – 15 min

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Demo the Reports:

1) Launch from Project summary page

2) Retrieve archived report
3) Review call sequence from top down

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Call From High Level UI Code Behind

Minimize logic in UI layer

– Instantiate wrapper class
Protected _report As New PTS_Report()

– Initialize report and call alternate launch methods

_report.InitReport(…)
_report.Show(…)
_report.BuildComposite(…)
_report.ShowComposite(…)

(Show code module [Link])

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Build a Mid Level Services Class

Contains reporting application specific services:

– SetupReport(…)
– ConfigureReport(…)
– SetReportParms(…)
– GenerateReport(…)
– DisplayReport(…)
– DisplayReportFromArray (…)
– StoreReport(…)
– AppendAll(…uses third party stitching component…)

(Show module PTS_Report.vb) * Note: [Link]

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Build a Low Level Services Class

Contains generic reporting related services:

– SetConnection(…)
– GetUserFolder(…)
– SetParm(…)
– ExportToPDF (…)
– ExportToDOC (…)
– RedirectPDFToBrowserStream (…)
– RedirectDOCToBrowserStream(…)

(Show module [Link]) * Note: C#

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Build Additional Calls Into a Utility Class

Manage auto launch and store services:

– PTS_System.BuildFactSheet(…)
– PTS_ [Link](…)
– PTS_ [Link](…)

Pass in arguments from calling methods:

– Entity keys
– Template names
– File paths

(Show code module PTS_System.vb)

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1. Allow completion of compile following a project build

prior to calling any report.

2. Use temp output files with embedded session id for

insuring distinct temp files to avoid user collisions.

3. Utilize user folders for automated management,

cleanup and auditing output errors.

4. Set and double check project references for desired

version of Crystal DLLs as multiple versions may exist
on the server or development workstation.

5. Minimize complexity within the report objects for

maximum flexibility and robustness.

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1. These solutions are not trivial – but they do work.

2. The application and reporting modules have been in

production since June 2003, and continue to be
periodically extended and re-factored.

3. These techniques should work across development

languages and databases.

4. Crystal just works and rises to the challenges IF you

manage the landmines to leverage an enormous amount
of functionality and flexibility.

5. The key to success is making development choices that

provide FMR – Functionality, Maintainability and
Robustness.
(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 41
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1. Bay Area Crystal Decisions User Group

(BACDUG) holds meetings three to four times
per year in the San Francisco Bay area. The
meetings are open to all users of Crystal
Decision's products

[Link]

2. Crystal Decisions Developer Zone

[Link]/products/dev_zone

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Q&A

Don Robins
Outformations, Inc.
dbr@[Link]
(c)2004 Outformations, Inc. 43