Introduction to Web Reporting

Web Reporting is an exciting and powerful feature of Seagate Crystal Reports 7. This chapter provides a brief overview of the primary Web Reporting terminology, features and system architecture. We recommend that you review this section prior to commencing the hands-on examples.

Web Terminology Overview

As applications begin to take advantage of the Web for information distribution and the options increase so do the terms that we have to keep up with. This section provides some basic explanations to the terms and technology used in this guide.

Common Web Components
Web Server Common to all Web environments, you must have a browser on the client side and a Web server on the server side. Customary Web servers include Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), Netscape Enterprise Server, Netscape Fast Track Server and Domino.
Viewers Browsers read Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and are capable of running applications such as ActiveX or Java Applets. Within this guide we refer to the browser side applications as viewers which provide users with a frame to view report and query output. The Viewers described in this guide include: HTML, HTML Frame, Java and ActiveX.

When provided a choice between downloading a viewer with the report output or selecting HTML the selection of a viewer will often provide benefits that the script does not. Because viewers can render information in Seagate Software’s Encapsulated Page Format (EPF), working with a viewer allows information to be analyzed in its native format, which increases functionality.

Java It is easy to get confused with the new terminology on the scene in the world of Java. The Java components described in this guide come in 3 forms: applications, applets and beans.
  • Java Applications are executables which run independently of any other components. They can function within an operating system or browser.
  • Java Applets are mini-applications that require a container application to run, the most common of which is a Web browser.
  • Java Beans are just like applets, but they have an exposed API that allows developers to set properties and methods. Sun’s Java Beans can be compared to Microsoft’s ActiveX controls. A Java Bean’s open API not only allows developers to integrate it into their applications; it also provides programmatic control over how the Java Bean (viewer) presents itself within an application.

In order for the Java components to function, whether in a browser or an operating system, a Java Virtual Machine or JVM must be present. Most operating systems and browsers ship with a JVM as integrated technology.


Communication Terms
All of these Web components must talk to each other and that requires a communication interface. Communication types vary by Web Server. The most common Application Programming Interfaces include: Microsoft Internet Information Server’s ISAPI, Netscape Enterprise and Fast Track’s NSAPI and CGI, which stands for Common Gateway Interface. CGI provides a means of interfacing Web servers to other components (external DLLs), in the same manner as ISAPI and NSAPI. CGI is a standard for non-Microsoft/Netscape web servers, such as Domino or O’Reilly.

For more information on Web components and communication please turn to the Seagate Crystal Reports Developers help (DEVELOPERS.HLP) and search "Web components" or reference your Web Server documentation.


For the latest information about this product, please visit the web site at www.seagatesoftware.com/crystalreports.

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