I-net Crystal-Clear
Encyclopedia
i-net Clear Reports is a Java-based cross-platform reporting application providing a report
designer and a server component to create reports in numerous output formats like PDF, HTML, PS, RTF, XLS, TXT, CSV, SVG, XML, as well as being viewable in a Java applet or Swing component. Application programmers can integrate i-net Clear Reports using the public API which spans over 200 classes.. Starting with release 11.0 i-net Clear Reports also supports the .NET
programming language and offers a public API for further integration in other products.
i-net Crystal-Clear was primarily designed to read Crystal Reports
templates. It had to be capable of reading the RPT report format and producing a reasonable output. For exporting and saving reasons a new file format had to be created later on, enabling Crystal-Clear to save the API results back and make them editable by a designer.
In 2002 the first version of i-net DesignerXML, the report designer, was written using Java Swing. The editing concept is slightly different from some other designers, using a band-oriented report template format, meaning that reports are designed based on rows of data.
The development efforts has changed in more recent years to a full reporting platform approach, rather than the developer-only, framework-based one.
True to its roots, i-net Crystal-Clear still has the ability to read and execute Crystal Reports report templates up until the latest versions of Crystal Reports.
Unlike Crystal Reports, however, the i-net Crystal-Clear report file format has always been an open format. Until version 9.0 it was an XML format. Since version 9, the report file format is in a zip
-based format similar to OpenDocument
.
i-net Clear Reports comes as a standalone server as well as a servlet which can be run on any Java EE application server such as Tomcat
, Jetty
, IIS
, or Apache
(via PHP
).
Features can be added using the public API, or by adding custom JavaBeans
which can be added to reports. User defined functions (UDF) extend the formula features of the embedded formula calculation routines.
Report
A report is a textual work made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form....
designer and a server component to create reports in numerous output formats like PDF, HTML, PS, RTF, XLS, TXT, CSV, SVG, XML, as well as being viewable in a Java applet or Swing component. Application programmers can integrate i-net Clear Reports using the public API which spans over 200 classes.. Starting with release 11.0 i-net Clear Reports also supports the .NET
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
programming language and offers a public API for further integration in other products.
History
in Version 11.0 i-net Crystal-Clear was renamed to i-net Clear Reports. At this time it also gained .NET integration as a major feature.i-net Crystal-Clear was primarily designed to read Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports
-External links:*****Reviews:****...
templates. It had to be capable of reading the RPT report format and producing a reasonable output. For exporting and saving reasons a new file format had to be created later on, enabling Crystal-Clear to save the API results back and make them editable by a designer.
In 2002 the first version of i-net DesignerXML, the report designer, was written using Java Swing. The editing concept is slightly different from some other designers, using a band-oriented report template format, meaning that reports are designed based on rows of data.
The development efforts has changed in more recent years to a full reporting platform approach, rather than the developer-only, framework-based one.
True to its roots, i-net Crystal-Clear still has the ability to read and execute Crystal Reports report templates up until the latest versions of Crystal Reports.
Unlike Crystal Reports, however, the i-net Crystal-Clear report file format has always been an open format. Until version 9.0 it was an XML format. Since version 9, the report file format is in a zip
ZIP (file format)
Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
-based format similar to OpenDocument
OpenDocument
The Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
.
Flexibility
Being a Java application, i-net Clear Reports has the ability to run on a variety of platforms and environments. There is virtually no restriction concerning data sources that can be used, as long as there is a JDBC driver available for accessing the data. For non-JDBC data sources, there are how-to's to write simple mini-drivers. With the new .NET API it got even more flexible and allows integration into .NET based applications.i-net Clear Reports comes as a standalone server as well as a servlet which can be run on any Java EE application server such as Tomcat
Apache Tomcat
Apache Tomcat is an open source web server and servlet container developed by the Apache Software Foundation...
, Jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
, IIS
Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services – formerly called Internet Information Server – is a web server application and set of feature extension modules created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows. It is the most used web server after Apache HTTP Server. IIS 7.5 supports HTTP, HTTPS,...
, or Apache
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
(via PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
).
Features can be added using the public API, or by adding custom JavaBeans
JavaBeans
JavaBeans are reusable software components for Java. Practically, they are classes written in the Java programming language conforming to a particular convention. They are used to encapsulate many objects into a single object , so that they can be passed around as a single bean object instead of as...
which can be added to reports. User defined functions (UDF) extend the formula features of the embedded formula calculation routines.