Crystal Reports is touted as an end-user reporting tool.
Then it requires the entry of sql in it’s own twisted format.
Developers end up using a dumbed down tool.
Then it requires the entry of sql in it’s own twisted format.
Developers end up using a dumbed down tool.
One of the products that I work with uses Crystal Reports as a data transformation tool.
This app parses structured messages to load it’s database.
Crystal is then used to query this database to produce a report that is fed back into the application.
We have upgraded the product recently and it has updated Crystal. The new version has lost the ability to resize the page. You need to use the printer setup to set the print size. Oh and the existing data has been badly squashed up to fit into an A4 page.
I am exporting data as a text file.
Yes I am using a report WYSIWYG screen painted tool to define fixed with text output.
The app then uses a pick screen to identify fields to read in.
Developer Rants 