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| <p class="head">Integrating BIRT</p> |
| <p class="subhead">Overview</p> |
| |
| <h1>Integration Points</h1> |
| |
| <p>BIRT reporting provides a variety of integration points to accomplish various tasks:</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="#runtime">Runtime integration</a></li> |
| <li><a href="#design">Design-time integration</a></li> |
| <li><a href="#extensions">Extensions to BIRT</a></li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <p>BIRT charting APIs are described elsewhere. (Not yet available.) |
| </p> |
| |
| <h1><a name="runtime">Runtime Integration</a></h1> |
| |
| <p>Your application can integrate the BIRT web and engine runtimes:</p> |
| <dl class="break-list"> |
| <dt><a href="#viewer">BIRT Report Web App</a></dt> |
| <dd>A series of URLs that your application can |
| use to display a parameter page, run and display a report, etc. |
| </dd> |
| |
| <dt><a href="#engine-api">Report Engine API</a></dt> |
| <dd>A Java interface used to embed the BIRT report engine within your application. |
| The engine behavior can be customized for use in a web app, RCP app, command |
| line app, etc.</dd> |
| </dl> |
| |
| <h1><a name="design">Design-Time Integration</a></h1> |
| |
| <p>Your application can explore or create BIRT XML report designs:</p> |
| <dl class="break-list"> |
| |
| <dt><a href="#deapi">Design Engine API</a></dt> |
| <dd>Provides access to a BIRT report design. You can explore the design, |
| modify it and so on. Use this API to create your own custom report designer, |
| or to perform batch tasks on designs.</dd> |
| <dt><a href="viewer-php.html">Generate a Report Design Directly</a></dt> |
| <dd>If you can write XML files, or with templates, you can generate report |
| designs based on an application-specific report designer. This technique is |
| ideal for non-Java scripting environments such as PHP.</dd> |
| </dl> |
| |
| <h1><a name="extensions">Extending BIRT</a></h1> |
| |
| <p>Your application can extend BIRT for your specific needs:</p> |
| <dl class="break-list"> |
| |
| <dt><a href="../ref">Scripting</a></dt> |
| <dd>BIRT provides extensive scripting support. You can create anything from |
| computed columns to sophisticated business logic to extensive integration with |
| existing Java code.</dd> |
| |
| <dt>Open Data Access (ODA) Extension API</dt> |
| <dd>BIRT provides a JDBC data source. Use the ODA API to create custom |
| data sources drivers. Each driver has run-time behavior along with |
| optional design-time UI.</dd> |
| <dt>Scripted Data Source</dt> |
| <dd>The scripted data source and data set elements allow you to access custom |
| data sources directly from your report without the need to create an ODA driver. |
| This solution is ideal for one-off data sources, prototypes, and the like.</dd> |
| |
| <dt>BIRT Report Item Extension API</dt> |
| <dd>The BIRT model is extensible; you can add new report items. Use this |
| API to include design-time, run-time or presentation-time behavior.</dd> |
| </dl> |
| |
| <h1><a name="viewer">Report Viewer</a></h1> |
| |
| <p>The BIRT Viewer can be used in a variety of ways:</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li>As a stand-alone, pre-built web application for running and viewing |
| reports.</li> |
| <li>As a starter web application that you can customize to your |
| needs.</li> |
| <li>As an example for learning how to build your own reporting web application, |
| or to learn how to use the BIRT engine.</li> |
| <li>As a way to run a report using a URL. This option provides a simple way to |
| integrate BIRT reporting into applications build using non-Java technology |
| such as Perl, PHP or even static web pages.</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <p>The BIRT viewer is a web application included with BIRT to perform the report |
| preview operation within Eclipse. It is also a sample of how to integrate birt |
| with a web application.</p> |
| |
| <ul class="arrow-list"> |
| <li><a href="viewer-deploy.html">Integrating the BIRT Viewer</a> explains how to |
| deploy the BIRT viewer onto your own application server. The explanation uses |
| Apache Jakarta Tomcat as the sample deployment target.</li> |
| <li><a href="viewer-use.html">Using the BIRT Viewer</a> discusses |
| the viewer operation URLs and their parameters.</li> |
| <li><a href="viewer-php.html">Using the Viewer from PHP</a> discusses how to |
| run BIRT reports from a non-Java scripting environment such as PHP. Also |
| briefly summarizes how to use PHP to generate custom report designs.</li> |
| <li>Viewer Pages discusses the JSP that make up the viewer. (Not yet available.) |
| <li>The viewer code is available in the BIRT CVS repository in the |
| <a href="../frameizer.php?page=http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/index.cgi/source/org.eclipse.birt.report.viewer/?cvsroot=BIRT_Project"> |
| org.eclipse.birt.report.viewer</a> project. See the |
| <a href="../build/build_instr.html">BIRT build instructions</a> for |
| information on how to access CVS and build the viewer.</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <h1><a name="engine-api">Report Engine API</a></h1> |
| <p>Use the Report Engine API to run BIRT reports directly from Java code or to |
| create a custom web application front end for BIRT.</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="engine.html">Using the Engine API</a> explains how to use the |
| Engine API to create a simple command-line program that runs reports.</li> |
| </ul> |
| <h1><a name="deapi">Design Engine API</a></h1> |
| <p>Use the Design Engine API (DE API) to create a custom report designer tool, |
| or to explore or modify BIRT report designs. The BIRT Designer is built using |
| this API. (Internally, the Design Engine is also called the "report model" or |
| just "model.")</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="de-api.html">Using the Design Engine API</a>: a brief primer for |
| using the DE API.</li> |
| <li>The Design Engine code is available in the BIRT CVS repository in the |
| <a href="../frameizer.php?page=http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/index.cgi/source/org.eclipse.birt.report.model/?cvsroot=BIRT_Project"> |
| org.eclipse.birt.report.model</a> project. See the |
| <a href="../build/build_instr.html">BIRT build instructions</a> for |
| information on how to access CVS and build the code.</li> |
| </ul> |
| <p> </p> |
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