As far as creating reports, SSRS is a full-featured report engine. Reports can be created against any data source that has a managed code provider, OLE DB, or ODBC data source. This means you can easily retrieve data from SQL Server, Oracle, Analysis Services, Access, or Essbase, and many other databases. This data can be presented in a variety of ways.
To address the varying needs of users, SSRS provides three main tools from the user perspective:
Report Viewer: The primary mechanism for viewing reports over the Web.
Report Builder: The tool that provides users with a front end for ad hoc reporting against a SQL Server or Analysis Services database
Report Designer: The tool that takes on the job of building advanced reports.
“Data!data!data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay.”
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
- SQL Server Reporting Services
