SQL Tutorial 13: Create Report from Table using Report Writer(iReport)

The video presentation uses a report writer to present the content of your table from a database to non-IT persons.

Report writers are commonly used in receipts, invoices, or generating a report to executives of the company. Crystal Reports of SAP, SQL Server Reporting Services of Microsoft, and iReport of Jaspersoft.

This video uses iReport of Jaspersoft.

The presentation starts with the connection from DB2 server to iReport establishing connection by DB2 class libraries. With this in place, you need to setup the connection by specifying the JDBC URL, JDBC driver. Inside the JDBC driver indicate the port number and the name of the database you need to access. You might as well indicate the username and password of the database and test if it will provide connection.

You can now select the table you need to generate by selecting its location in a schema with the help of a report wizard. Familiarize first with the parts of the iReport before you proceed dragging the columns needed to generate your list. A report writer is separated by bands. These are: title, page header, column header, detail, column footer, page footer, and summary. On the right side is the palette of controls that you may add in your report. The down part of the palette is the Properties window on where you can modify the properties of a control. The left side of the report writer is the Report Inspector. This is where we set the parameters, variables, and location of the columns that we will drag later in the middle of the designer area.