Re: Java-Based Web Reporting

Pete & Aaron,

Long story short:  I'm re-writing a VB application that accesses
iSeries data.  It used ActiveReports to generate reports from a
custom-built query engine.

The query engine was redeveloped using RPG and WebFaced screens,
with the final result being an SQL statement.  I'm throwing the
results to a subfile (so they can select items to work with) but
would rather having something a bit stronger for "physical" output
(ActiveReports provides a variety of destinations: printer, .xls, .pdf,
etc.).  I was toying with the idea of using ASC's Sequel line of
query tools, but they don't seem to have all of the output options
that Jasper does.

That said, it sounds like I would have something similar to what
Pete has done.  One of the objectives of the re-write was to keep
most / all of the processing on the iSeries (we have 60+ plants
that will be hitting this so response time is a significant factor).
I'd love to hear how you solved this, Pete.


Pete@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Anyone have any tips on installing this on iSeries ?

Pete Helgren wrote:

I guess I'd ask the same question that Aaron asked:  What is the RPG
needed for?

In our case, we have "pre-built" the SQL statement for the selects and
we allow the user to chose sorting and some column information and then
we update the SQL and compile and run the Jasper report.  If the "front'
end stuff is already done in RPG and you just want a nicer way to output
the content (and have multiple output options) then using the RPG to
build the SQL and passing that sql statement to the Jasper report would
be possible.  You could store the jrxml in the IFS and use the IFS API's
to open and update the file and then compile the Jasper report before
running it.

We are heading this direction, allowing the user more design freedom
(report writing) rather than presenting just a list of canned reports
with limited sorting and selecting options, but we are not there yet.
And, we'd probably use a more graphical front end for report design
(like iReport) rather than RPG.

But, if your RPG program already creates the SQL statement, hooking that
up to Jasper wouldn't be *too* hard (famous last words).

Pete Helgren



dsager@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>Pete,
>
>By chance have you (or anyone else) tried to interface either iReport
>and/or Jasper with RPG?  I have a WebFaced application that is in dire
need
>of a good ad hoc reporting tool (I already have the front-end for field
>selection, sort / selection criteria, etc.) and this looks like it would
be
>more than great.
>
>Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Dave Sager
>
>
>
>Pete Helgren wrote:
>
>Aaron,
>
>We use Jasper reports which works very well and we use iReport as the
>designer tool.  It is a great free, open source combination.  You'll
>find iReport much easier to use than Query/400 and the formatting is
>much superior to  Crystal Reports (IMHO).
>
>iReports generates a compiled object that Jasper then uses to render the
>report.
>
>You'll find it here: http://ireport.sourceforge.net/
>
>Also DataVision has some useful features and produces nicely formatted
>reports.
>
>All of these applications are Open Source.
>
>Pete Helgren
>
>
>albartell wrote:
>
>
>
>>Does anybody know of some good and FREE (or near free) web reporting
tools
>>written in Java? The kind of reporting I am talking about is "on the fly"
>>build your own queries type deal, similar to Query/400.
>>
>>So far I have found Bzbyte reports which has a lot of nice features and
is
>>open source. http://www.bzbyte.com/a/bzbyte/Products.jsp
>>
>>I also have demo'd PlanetJavaInc's WOW product and am going to get a
quote
>>for their Professional version (I need input capable fields for report
>>search criteria). I also am not sure if this product supports MySQL or
>>
>>
>not.
>
>
>>Thanks for any info people can provide.
>>
>>Aaron Bartell