SQL Server Data Tools for Business Intelligence (SSDT BI) reduces the RDL (Report Definition Language) component to graphic icons in a GUI (Graphical User Interface). In this way, instead of writing code, the user can drag-and-drop graphic icons into an SSRS report format for most aspects of the SSRS report. Reports defined by RDL can be downloaded to a variety of formats including
Excel,
PDF,
CSV,
XML,
TIFF (and other image formats), and HTML Web Archive. SQL Server 2008 and 2012 SSRS can also prepare reports in
Microsoft Word (DOC) format, while third-party report generators offer additional output formats. Users can interact with the Report Server web service directly, or instead use Report Manager, a Web-based application that interfaces with the Report Server web service. With Report Manager, users can view, subscribe to, and manage reports as well as manage and maintain data sources and security settings. Report Manager can also deliver SQL reports by e-mail, or place them on a file share.
Security is
role-based and can be assigned on an individual item, such as a report or data source, a folder of items, or site wide. Security roles and rights are inherited and can be overloaded. Typically the reports are only revealed to users able to run them, and SQL connections in the source allow anyone to run with sufficient privileges. This is because configuring Windows Authentication through the reports execution is laborious and time-consuming: a Server Principal Name record (requiring DOMAIN ADMINISTRATOR access) is created in Active Directory associating the Sql Server Reporting service to the user the service runs under on the server (a network user to facilitate querying the Active Directory)... and the
service account user has to have the delegation option enabled, the server must be trusted for delegation too; the windows users wishing to run reports must be set to allow delegation - so Kerberos authentication protocols will be used. The reporting service itself has to have the configuration edited to enable Kerberos protocols... but then the reports will be secure and only display data the individual users are permitted to (based on SQL security configuration). RDL reports can be viewed by using the standalone Report Server that comes with
Microsoft SQL Server, or by using the
ASP.NET ReportViewer web control, or by using the ReportViewer
Windows Forms control. The latter method allows reports to be embedded directly into web pages or
.NET Windows applications. The ReportViewer control will process reports by: (a) server processing, where the report is rendered by the Report Server; or (b) local processing, where the control renders the RDL file itself. SQL Server Reporting Services also support
ad hoc reports: the designer develops a report schema and deploys it on the reporting server, where the user can choose relevant fields/data and generate reports. Users can then download the reports locally.
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP1 expands Microsoft support for viewing reports to mobile platforms, including
Microsoft Surface, Apple iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8.
Report Definition Language Report Definition Language (RDL) is a standard proposed by
Microsoft for defining reports. RDL is an
XML application primarily used with SQL Server Reporting Services. It is usually written using
Visual Studio, although there are also third-party tools; it may also be created or edited by hand in a text editor. SQL Server Reporting Services or other third-party reporting frameworks use RDL to define charts, graphs, calculations, text, images (through links), and other report objects and render them in a variety of formats. There are three high-level sections in a typical RDL file: • Page style - The objects to display including fields, images, graphs, and tables. • Field definitions - The extended attributes of fields that are populated with formulas,
dynamic data, or
Database derived data. • Parameters and Database connections - Parameters that may be furnished by the user or passed in from another application; and database connections and queries for pulling data into the report. == Power BI Report Builder ==