>>5) Tweak report layout.
>----> Yes ...
>>---
>>6) Open report requesting interface.
>----> Not sure what you mean here ...
Class / interface that user goes to run report from.
>>7) Add code for running SP and getting dataset back
>----> Done in the dataset project (
.dataset) and the application code to use it.
I think that you are missing the link here. Your ".dataset" is just a FAKE layout for the report to feel warm and fuzzy with. It's nothing more then schema of what is presented in REAL TIME.
My GUI for a report will gather the params it needs, and pass them back to the SP. That SP will deliver the data back to me. I CAPTURE it in a dataset named the same as ".dataset"
I now take the report object and bind in the .dataset.
>>It seems that your asking the report to do something with the params and pass them back to the backend? Why ???
Nope not at all. :) I consider reporting to be stupid, and that I have to preset everything for it and it will work fine.
>----> I can see where the report does not need a parameter if the code to run the SP receives it. I am just beginning to understand this. At first, the report was bound to the app_code dataset since I could not access the .dataset so I figured the report's parameter should get attached the the dataset linked during design. I much prefer controlling all in code where possible ...
Exactly. Kind of like what you did in a VFP reporting run. You munge the data, and the report is "pre" bound to it's existence.
>>Is this easier?
>----> Not necessarily. I have had to try the wizards and code oriented methods to understand the process. I was unable to find anything definitive on the web or in the two or three books on vs 2005 and vb.net at my disposal. No one seems to use or care or at least talk much about reportviewer and sql server 2000.
Just as a heads up Wizards are not your friend or helper! I did a few reports n VS2005 using the reportviewer. Not bad, well not great either. I have used Crystal for reporting in .NET for 4+ years. We all hate crystal or at least I do :) Crystal is much better then reportviewer for anything related to higher end reporting. The reportviewer to me is just a crawl forward from the old ?? "Sales total for:"+ a->CompanyName days.
