Bytes and Bites of Internet
Reporting
MAPS in SSRS
May 6th
In SQL Server 2008 R2 Microsoft introduced really cool new feature … MAPS. With that user can use their existing data on top of maps to have better visualization of information (say customer base distributed across USA). What’s really good about this feature is user can use maps from maps gallery, or spatial data or ESRI (Environmental System Research Institute) shape files, hell you can even add bing maps background on top of it ! In short I think maps add one more tool in BI arsenal 
For this demo, I have used VS 2010 and SQL Server 2012 for generating map report. I have my little table based on AdventureWorks 2012 which I am using as data source for this report. First step is create new report project in VS. And add new report, create new database connection (for data source) and a query (for data set).
[sql] select StateProvinceCode,count(1) as TotalCustomers from tablebar
where countryregioncode = ‘US’ group by StateProvinceCode order by StateProvinceCode [/sql]
My above query gets count of customers per state and sorted by state. So this report basically shows count of customers located in each state of USA. Once that is done, its time to design the report. All you need is to drop map control in empty report area. As soon as you drop map control in report, it will start layer wizard. This wizard is used to set different settings of map, like map type, data source for map, layout etc.
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Crystal Reports in .NET
Nov 5th
Ok, after surviving 5 days without electricity I guess I am ready for new post. We had great storm last week and it caused state wide power outages. Some cities still don’t have electricity yet !! Anyways, this post is about creating basic report using Crystal Reports in ASP.NET
I think Crystal Report has been part of Visual Studio from beginning of time. And it has been very popular reporting tool due to its simplicity and flexibility (compared to SSRS). I personally think that it is more easy to work with compared to SSRS but it still misses features like report management and control. So I like to work with both of them 
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With VS 2010, MSFT has changed it strategy. They still support CR, but they also has begun to promote SSRS. When you install VS 2010, it doesn’t install CR runtime components, so you will need to download it from SAP website (both Runtime and Controls).
Ok, so I begin with creating empty website project for ASP.NET. And then add web form using add new item. Then add report viewer control to page. Next step is strange but required in order to avoid error. Once control is added to page, close the project and open it again. With surprise you will be presented with upgrade wizard for your crystal report to upgrade to newer version !! If you look at CR, reference in page before upgrade is,
<%@ Register Assembly="CrystalDecisions.Web, Version=10.5.3700.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=692fbea5521e1304"
Namespace="CrystalDecisions.Web" TagPrefix="CR" %>
Developing reports in BIDS using Report Wizard
Oct 27th
In my last two posts about reports, I explained how can we develop & deploy reports using Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS). But I think that even though I titled it as 101, it was not as easy as it sounds. Because there is even easier way exists to create a report that is by using Report Wizard. This wizard guides user at every step and they can create simple report with few clicks and even without being much “expert” at it. In today’s post, I will explain how can we use Report Wizard to create report.
Before doing anything, we need to create new reporting project from BIDS section of VS 2008. And select Report Server Project Wizard. Once we enter name and location of project and clicks OK, a wizard appear and thus our journey begins.
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First step is to create datasource for our report, which is basically connection to database.