Infragistics has recently released NetAdvantage Reporting 2012 Volume 2 with support for hierarchical data and Visual Studio 2012 including an enhanced reporting engine, which uses less memory and disk space when rendering server side reports. It includes a page break control which provides an ability to start a new page within a section including RepeatOnEveryPage property, which is used to create header and footer sections of a content region.
With the help of hierarchical data sources, you can create a master-detail report by dfragging objects to the design surface without any need for sub-reports. You can also display child data in either report sections or by using our flexible table control. The new lasso tool enables you to select multiple objects by drawing a freehand outline around objects.
InfoQ had a chat with Jason Beres, Vice President of Product Management at Infragistics to know more information about NetAdvantage Reporting 2012 Volume 2.
InfoQ: How is NetAdvantage Reporting 2012 V2 different from other competing products?
NetAdvantage Reporting features the industry's first WPF and Silverlight based rendering reporting tool (built entirely in XAML capable platforms, both the designer and engine), offering the only report rendering engine that can run without any server participation required.
NetAdvantage Reporting is a tool that allows developers to create modern, innovative, visually appealing reports by providing a compelling and easy-to-use design experience in Visual Studio. NetAdvantage Reporting is designed to natively interface with all major data access technologies, provide an easy-to-use design experience and robust report engine all available in HTML, Silverlight, WPF, and WinForms.
InfoQ: Is it possible to create reports for web based environment (ASP.NET)?
Web, desktop, mobile - NetAdvantage Reporting does it all. NetAdvantage for Reporting ensures that your end-users can analyze key data within the same report from their desktop with the WPF or Windows Forms Viewer, on the web with the Silverlight or HTML5 Viewer, and on touch screen devices using the HTML5 Report Viewer.
InfoQ: Can developers make use of MySQL as backend for creating reports?
Most definitely! Reports in NetAdvantage Reporting are built based on one or more data sources. Two types of data sources are supported; SQL and Object. This means you can connect to MS SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Entity Framework, and even custom objects. The binding process can be done either at design-time (using the Data Source Wizard) or programmatically, at run-time.
InfoQ: Do you provide any editors to simplify the report creation process?
We provide a number of feature rich reporting controls to create and design visually stunning reports such as images, tables, labels, and charting capabilities that include area, column, line, and candlestick charts. Since report controls are based in Visual Studio, all members of your team can work together building reports that optimize data presentation and visual appeal.
InfoQ: Does the latest release provide support for Pies and Gauges to create reports?
Currently, we only support the use of column charts, line charts, area charts, candlestick charts, and OHLC charts for use in report creation. Our team is hard at work creating a number of new reporting controls including the pie and gauge controls.
InfoQ: Please share with us the future roadmap of NetAdvantage Reporting. What we can expect in 2013?
In 2013 we will continue to invest heavily in our multi-platform reporting strategy by taking our enterprise reporting solutions to the next level. We already have shipped an iOS based dashboard / business intelligence end user reporting tool called ReportPlus. Expect to see more from Infragistics in terms of cross-platform and cross-device Enterprise reporting. When it comes to Enterprise-level reporting, we look at NetAdvantage Reporting being a pillar in a multi-pillar approach to delivering a complete solution. Users are demanding more from their reporting systems - they expect rich, interactive data experiences. We are currently delivering as well as innovating on ways to do that across platforms and across devices.