The Finals: MS Reporting Services vs XtraReports
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After a little poking around and a lot of help from my friends here, I've come down to two paths. Turns out my hosting company "doesn't support Crystal reports," i.e. if you wanna use that tool, you need stuff installed / configured on the host server. I was happy to hear their response as it validated my assumptions that this particular dog just won't hunt, and perhaps that I'm not quite as stupid as I thought I was (though the jury is still out on that). What my hosting folks (enthusiastic endorsement: Applied Innovations[^]) do support is Sql Server 2005 Reporting Services (SSRS), which they provide for free. Sometimes Free is actually cheaper than Not Free, so I thought I'd give it a try. Looks like all the basics are there. In the Not Free category, I downloaded the eval of XtraReports after hearing good things from many of you. It seems like a quality product and also gets the job done for my web reporting needs. That said, in this particular case $350 appears to be exactly $350 more than Free, which makes me lean towards SSRS. So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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After a little poking around and a lot of help from my friends here, I've come down to two paths. Turns out my hosting company "doesn't support Crystal reports," i.e. if you wanna use that tool, you need stuff installed / configured on the host server. I was happy to hear their response as it validated my assumptions that this particular dog just won't hunt, and perhaps that I'm not quite as stupid as I thought I was (though the jury is still out on that). What my hosting folks (enthusiastic endorsement: Applied Innovations[^]) do support is Sql Server 2005 Reporting Services (SSRS), which they provide for free. Sometimes Free is actually cheaper than Not Free, so I thought I'd give it a try. Looks like all the basics are there. In the Not Free category, I downloaded the eval of XtraReports after hearing good things from many of you. It seems like a quality product and also gets the job done for my web reporting needs. That said, in this particular case $350 appears to be exactly $350 more than Free, which makes me lean towards SSRS. So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
If you ever decide to change hosting provider you might find it worth $350 to not be locked to SSRS. Just my two cents, for what it's worth.
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If you ever decide to change hosting provider you might find it worth $350 to not be locked to SSRS. Just my two cents, for what it's worth.
Well, I'm not locked to SSRS as I can buy most any of the reporting solutions out there. The only limitation is that I can't use Crystal. Having worked with it a bit, that's not really a heartbreaker. Is there a down side to SSRS that I'm overlooking?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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Well, I'm not locked to SSRS as I can buy most any of the reporting solutions out there. The only limitation is that I can't use Crystal. Having worked with it a bit, that's not really a heartbreaker. Is there a down side to SSRS that I'm overlooking?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Christopher Duncan wrote:
Is there a down side to SSRS that I'm overlooking?
I had the impression (I haven't used it, so don't take my word for it) that SSRS had to be installed on the server just like Crystal Reports. While XtraReports can be added to the Bin directory as a dll.
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Well, I'm not locked to SSRS as I can buy most any of the reporting solutions out there. The only limitation is that I can't use Crystal. Having worked with it a bit, that's not really a heartbreaker. Is there a down side to SSRS that I'm overlooking?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Christopher Duncan wrote:
The only limitation is that I can't use Crystal. Having worked with it a bit, that's not really a heartbreaker.
I dont trust people that think Crystal is good. :)
xacc.ide - now with TabsToSpaces support
IronScheme - 1.0 beta 2 - out now!
((lambda (x) `((lambda (x) ,x) ',x)) '`((lambda (x) ,x) ',x)) -
Christopher Duncan wrote:
Is there a down side to SSRS that I'm overlooking?
I had the impression (I haven't used it, so don't take my word for it) that SSRS had to be installed on the server just like Crystal Reports. While XtraReports can be added to the Bin directory as a dll.
Yeah, it does have to be installed server side. However, since it already is, and it's free, that's where I'm leaning. If Crystal had been installed and was free, I'd probably have gone with that. XtraReports looks cool, but it doesn't seem to bring $350 of extra benefits to the party. And you know how I love a good party. :)
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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After a little poking around and a lot of help from my friends here, I've come down to two paths. Turns out my hosting company "doesn't support Crystal reports," i.e. if you wanna use that tool, you need stuff installed / configured on the host server. I was happy to hear their response as it validated my assumptions that this particular dog just won't hunt, and perhaps that I'm not quite as stupid as I thought I was (though the jury is still out on that). What my hosting folks (enthusiastic endorsement: Applied Innovations[^]) do support is Sql Server 2005 Reporting Services (SSRS), which they provide for free. Sometimes Free is actually cheaper than Not Free, so I thought I'd give it a try. Looks like all the basics are there. In the Not Free category, I downloaded the eval of XtraReports after hearing good things from many of you. It seems like a quality product and also gets the job done for my web reporting needs. That said, in this particular case $350 appears to be exactly $350 more than Free, which makes me lean towards SSRS. So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Christopher Duncan wrote:
So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
- Support. DevExpress will even write you a small app. for you to show you how to do what you want to do. 2) Portability. What happens when Applied Innovations is bought by a bigger host who doesn't support SSRS? Or the make a fundamental change to their services that doesn't support other things you require? This has recently happened to me with a fairly large host - I'm in the process of moving to a different one right now. 3) I've yet to find a free product that was really worth it. In this case, if free costs me more than 6 hours of time compared to option B, it's really more expensive than $350. Cheers, Drew.
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
The only limitation is that I can't use Crystal. Having worked with it a bit, that's not really a heartbreaker.
I dont trust people that think Crystal is good. :)
xacc.ide - now with TabsToSpaces support
IronScheme - 1.0 beta 2 - out now!
((lambda (x) `((lambda (x) ,x) ',x)) '`((lambda (x) ,x) ',x))leppie wrote:
I dont trust people that think Crystal is good. Smile
It is far better than SQL Reporting Services...
I didn't get any requirements for the signature
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
- Support. DevExpress will even write you a small app. for you to show you how to do what you want to do. 2) Portability. What happens when Applied Innovations is bought by a bigger host who doesn't support SSRS? Or the make a fundamental change to their services that doesn't support other things you require? This has recently happened to me with a fairly large host - I'm in the process of moving to a different one right now. 3) I've yet to find a free product that was really worth it. In this case, if free costs me more than 6 hours of time compared to option B, it's really more expensive than $350. Cheers, Drew.
Hey, Drew. Those are all excellent points, thanks. Sounds like DevX has good support, which is important. In fact, that's why I've stayed with my hosting company for so long, because of the level of support they give me. If they suddenly got gobbled up and I had to look for a new home, I don't think I'd have difficulty finding one that supported SSRS, so that's not a cause of worry for me. We certainly share the same evaluation of free, though. :)
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
- Support. DevExpress will even write you a small app. for you to show you how to do what you want to do. 2) Portability. What happens when Applied Innovations is bought by a bigger host who doesn't support SSRS? Or the make a fundamental change to their services that doesn't support other things you require? This has recently happened to me with a fairly large host - I'm in the process of moving to a different one right now. 3) I've yet to find a free product that was really worth it. In this case, if free costs me more than 6 hours of time compared to option B, it's really more expensive than $350. Cheers, Drew.
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Hey, Drew. Those are all excellent points, thanks. Sounds like DevX has good support, which is important. In fact, that's why I've stayed with my hosting company for so long, because of the level of support they give me. If they suddenly got gobbled up and I had to look for a new home, I don't think I'd have difficulty finding one that supported SSRS, so that's not a cause of worry for me. We certainly share the same evaluation of free, though. :)
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Christopher Duncan wrote:
that's why I've stayed with my hosting company for so long
When you have a good home, it's smart to stay put. I'm currently PO'd at my host of 7 years - they changed the way they handle incoming email which has thrown off a bunch of things I have going. Their new spam prevention measures turn away a lot of legitimate emails and there's no way to turn it off. Their 'help' on the matter is to move my email to a semi-dedicated email server at $100 extra per month. Gee thanks - I'd love to pay 6 times the current cost for something that worked fine a few months ago.
Christopher Duncan wrote:
I don't think I'd have difficulty finding one that supported SSRS, so that's not a cause of worry for me.
That's the main thing. If there's lots of choices out there then it's not a worry. Cheers, Drew.
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After a little poking around and a lot of help from my friends here, I've come down to two paths. Turns out my hosting company "doesn't support Crystal reports," i.e. if you wanna use that tool, you need stuff installed / configured on the host server. I was happy to hear their response as it validated my assumptions that this particular dog just won't hunt, and perhaps that I'm not quite as stupid as I thought I was (though the jury is still out on that). What my hosting folks (enthusiastic endorsement: Applied Innovations[^]) do support is Sql Server 2005 Reporting Services (SSRS), which they provide for free. Sometimes Free is actually cheaper than Not Free, so I thought I'd give it a try. Looks like all the basics are there. In the Not Free category, I downloaded the eval of XtraReports after hearing good things from many of you. It seems like a quality product and also gets the job done for my web reporting needs. That said, in this particular case $350 appears to be exactly $350 more than Free, which makes me lean towards SSRS. So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
I'd go wiht Reporting Services. All those who mutter about lock-in maybe aren't aware that the .rdl format is specified (see the bottom of this page[^]. There's even a CP article[^] about it.
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I'd go wiht Reporting Services. All those who mutter about lock-in maybe aren't aware that the .rdl format is specified (see the bottom of this page[^]. There's even a CP article[^] about it.
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leppie wrote:
I dont trust people that think Crystal is good. Smile
It is far better than SQL Reporting Services...
I didn't get any requirements for the signature
ToddHileHoffer wrote:
It is far better than SQL Reporting Services...
That's scary!
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ToddHileHoffer wrote:
It is far better than SQL Reporting Services...
That's scary!
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Jörgen Andersson wrote:
That's scary!
Very :(
xacc.ide - now with TabsToSpaces support
IronScheme - 1.0 beta 2 - out now!
((lambda (x) `((lambda (x) ,x) ',x)) '`((lambda (x) ,x) ',x))I'm not sure which is detested more on this site. VB or Crystal...
I didn't get any requirements for the signature
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After a little poking around and a lot of help from my friends here, I've come down to two paths. Turns out my hosting company "doesn't support Crystal reports," i.e. if you wanna use that tool, you need stuff installed / configured on the host server. I was happy to hear their response as it validated my assumptions that this particular dog just won't hunt, and perhaps that I'm not quite as stupid as I thought I was (though the jury is still out on that). What my hosting folks (enthusiastic endorsement: Applied Innovations[^]) do support is Sql Server 2005 Reporting Services (SSRS), which they provide for free. Sometimes Free is actually cheaper than Not Free, so I thought I'd give it a try. Looks like all the basics are there. In the Not Free category, I downloaded the eval of XtraReports after hearing good things from many of you. It seems like a quality product and also gets the job done for my web reporting needs. That said, in this particular case $350 appears to be exactly $350 more than Free, which makes me lean towards SSRS. So, before I dig in and start investing time in a particular platform, I thought I'd just ask the obvious question. Anyone know of $350 worth of reasons why XtraReports would be a better way to go than SSRS?
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Doesn't SSRS require the data to be from SQL Server? and the reports to be generated from SQL Server?
Need custom software developed? I do C# development and consulting all over the United States. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
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Doesn't SSRS require the data to be from SQL Server? and the reports to be generated from SQL Server?
Need custom software developed? I do C# development and consulting all over the United States. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
We use Sql Server. :)
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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We use Sql Server. :)
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Well yes so do I but what I was getting at is that you have to run the report from SQL Server. Or so I thought. I really like my reporting tool to be independent of the data source so the data can be culled from multiple sources or processed, etc.
Need custom software developed? I do C# development and consulting all over the United States. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane