INVENTORY INVENTORY MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF MEGHALAY MEGHALAYA STA STATE WIDE AREA AREA NETWORK (MSWA (MSWAN) A PROJECT PROJECT REPORT
Under the Guidance of
Mr. Partha Dasgupta (Faculty Associate, TCIT)
Submitted by-
RENUKA HAJONG Roll. No. 521019216 521019216 In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the aard of the de!ree "f
Master o Co!"#ter Co!"#ter A""$%&at%o' A""$%&at%o' (MCA) (MCA)
#A$-%0&'
0
Chapter 1
PROJECT OVERVIEW OVERVIEW 1.1 INTRODUCTION This project project is entitled “ Inventory Management System” is a software application development using Microsoft Visual Basic.Net (Vb.Net as the front!end and "#$ server as the bac%!end. "o& we can easil' manage the implemented and unimplemented scheme in the eput' )ommissioner () o*ce& o*ce& +est ,aro ,aro -ills& -ills& Me Megh ghala ala'a. 'a. This This soft softwar ware e is user user friendl' and eas' to handle it. This application application has has certain features features such as etail statement of goods comes from -ead #uarter. etail statement of receiving of goods. etail statement of issuing of goods. etail statement of fault' goods. nterface is user friendl'. "u*cient information and correct reporting s'stem. • • • • • •
This software software is mainl' focuses on the smooth functioning functioning of the o*ce wor% as a whole. n this wa'& it is not onl' direct and control but also energies the wor% /ow. t will help in prop proper er func functi tion onin ing g of ,ove ,overrnmen nmentt o*ce o*ce with withou outt much much manual wor%0 it will mainl' focus on eas' maintained of the data& time saving and reliable. 1.2 ORGANIZATION PROFILE Megh eghala' la'a "ta "tate +ide 1re 1rea Net Networ or% % (M"+ (M"+1 1N
is an
appro approve ved d scheme scheme of epart epartmen mentt of T of ,over ,overnm nment ent of ndi ndia a clai claime med d to brin bring g spee speed& d& e*ci e*cien enc' c'&& relia eliabi bili lit' t' and and accountabilit' of ,overnment to ,overnment functions. t is one of the core infrastructure components under National e! ,overnance ,overnance 2lan and was planned as a converged converged bac%bone networ% for voice& video and communications communications across each of the 34 states and 5 union territories. )ommon "ervice )enters ()") schemes would serve as the end end
del deliver iver' '
poi points. ts.
The
epa eparrtme tment
of
nfo nforrmation tion &
Technolog'& Technolog'& ,overnment ,overnment of ndia& is the nodal department department for
each
"+1N
implementation.
The
scheme
was
a
centra centrali6 li6ed ed initi initiati ative ve with with decent decentral rali6e i6ed d imple impleme menta ntatio tion. n. "+1Ns across the countr' are e7pected to cover at least 899999 899999 depart departme menta ntall o*ces o*ces throug through h : milli million on (:9 lacs lacs route %ilometers of communication lin%s
1.3 Probe! "tate!e#t
1t present the nventor' Management "'stem was done manuall'. t is di*cult to manage di;erent ;ort is re?uire
• • •
•
•
•
1.( Propo)e* "+)te!
n our proposed s'stem we have a computeri6e s'stem to manage the various records and reports e*cientl'. "o the mana manage geme ment nt of inve invent ntor or' ' will will help help to %ee eep p trac trac% % of the the goods. 1nother advantage of the s'stem is that it is ver' eas' to add& edit the details of the products& issue product& received product etc. The details of the product and -ead
%
?uarter are added in the database and so user can also view the details whenever the' want. @ur proposed s'stem has several advantages A ser friendl' interface A Cast access to database A $ess error A More "torage )apacit' A "earch facilit' A $oo% and Ceel >nvironment A #uic% transaction 1ll the manual di*culties in managing the goods in details have been recti
1., O-JECTIVE" D 1 computer based management s'stem is designed to handle all the primar' information re?uired to calculate dail' statements. atabase is maintained to handle all the details re?uired for the correct statement calculation. D This project intends to introduce more user friendliness in the various activities such as record& updating& maintenance& and searching. D The searching of record has been made ?uite simple as all the details of the product and -ead #uarter can be obtained b' simpl' %e'ing in the identi
The main objective of the entire activit' is to automate the process of da' to da' activities of Meghala'a "tate +ide 1rea Networ% li%e= :. Eeceive detail 3. ssue detail F. Cault' product detail G. Vertical -ead #uarter detail 8. -ori6ontal -ead #uarter details.
This project has some more features= D No 2aper +or% Ee?uired D Time >*cient D )ost >*cient D 1utomatic data validation D ser friendl' environment D ata securit' and reliabilit' D Cast data insertion H retrieval
1. Pro/e0t Cateor+
This project as title “ Inventory Management System ” is comes under the Eelational atabase Management "'stem (EBM" and @bject @riented 2rogramming 1pproach. This application is developed with the help of Visual basic student 39:9 and "#$ "erver 399I. This application can also be run on the networ% environment so it can be said as networ% application i.e. this application wor% under clientJserver 1rchitecture. 1. "0ope The scope of the project is the s'stem on which the software is installed& i.e. the project is developed as a des%top application& and it will wor% for a particular institute. But later on the project can be modi
The project has been planned to complete in a period of G months in accordance with the schedule of organi6ational attachment re?uirement b' )C1. >ach tas% is predicted to be performed timel' and an' obstacles will dela' the project. The project has been divided into few phases as follows= 5 I#6t6a )t4*+. The
'
D L6terat4re Re76e8. The bac%ground of the project will be studied0 software engineering methodolog' and VB.Net framewor% will be review in this phase. 5 "o9t8are Pro0e)). This phase consists of few activities
such s'stem re?uirement anal'sis& software design& coding and debugging. 5 Do04!e#tat6o#. The documentation comprising "E"&
" and thesis will be prepared occasionall' and completed at the end of ndustrial 1ttachment phase.
1.1: Too);Pat9or!
This project is developed using the tools& which are most suited for development of the 1pplication 2ac%age. These tools are as follows= ! :. Visual "tudio 39:9 (Cor front end 3. "#$ "erver 399I (Cor atabase "torage as Bac% end F. Microsoft +indows K (as an operating s'stem 2latform
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 I#tro*40t6o#
This literature review indicates the research innovative and interesting e7ploration of the research idea that related to the project. t is important element that covers the relevant %nowledge to help in project implementation. The literature review begins with the project understanding& followed b' development methodolog'& software process and models. "oftware Techni?ue& tools and related framewor% will also be discuss. 2.2 Pro/e0t Re76e8
n an' ,overnment o*ce& itLs become almost mandator' to implement a computeri6ed s'stem to monitor the wor% /ow. Meghala'a "tate +ide 1rea Networ% (M"+1N is an approved scheme of epartment of T of ,overnment of ndia claimed to bring speed& e*cienc'& reliabilit' and accountabilit' of ,overnment to ,overnment functions. Therefore& Mr.1marnath proposes an idea to develop a customi6e software to manage the goods that comes from Meghala'a "tate -ead #uarter. Mr.1marnath who also pla's a role as @rgani6ational Mentor. The needs of proper Inventory management system for M"+1N arise when the increase number of goods arrived from the -ead #uarter and has to be distributed across di;erent district and to ,overnment o*ce such activities li%e received& issue& fault' product etc. The s'stem should capable to manage user pro
infrastructure components under National e!,overnance 2lan and was planned as a converged bac%bone networ% for voice& video and communications across each of the 34 states and 5 union territories
2.2.2 O7er76e8 o9 the "+)te! to be *e7eope*
2reviousl' there is no proper s'stem to manage the products information. The program documentation and record has been compiled in spread sheet format and not centrali6ed. The information is not easil' accessible either b' the authori6e user. The records become di*cult to manage after the program has been running for more than a 'ear. 1mong the data that need to manage properl' are received product& issue product& fault' product etc. The overall s'stem to be built has a characteristic& to help the organi6ation in managing product record and generate various reports while organi6ation re?uired. emand on the above re?uirement& a Inventory Management System (M" is developed. The "'stem will be developed on the following modules! 2roduct Module Eeceived 2roduct Module ssue 2roduct Module Cault' 2roduct Module -ori6ontal o*ce Module Vertical o*ce Module • • • • • •
1ll these modules will be shared products record in the database level. This project will discuss about the Inventory Management System (M"& as stated earlier in the objective of this project. The main purpose of the M" s'stem is to provide facilit' to technician (store& update products related records. The s'stem to be developed shall be able to manage the following= • ser Management 2roduct records • • Eeceived 2roduct records • ssue 2roduct records • Cault' 2roduct records +
• • •
-ori6ontal o*ce records Vertical o*ce records ,enerate Various Eeports
1dditionall'& the above services should be accessible b' authori6ed user an'time. Crom this re?uirement& the s'stem should be built in windows based environment. 2.3 "t4*+ o9 E?6)t6# W6#*o8) App60at6o# Ar0h6te0t4re The M" project will be built in windows environment therefore it is important to stud' of windows application architecture. This will give a guideline and understanding on which suitable architecture to be used. n software s'stem point of view& architecture is the set of signi
Cig := ! N!Tier 1rchitecture
Below are brief summaries on all la'ers in iagram Cig= C6e#t a+er= this la'er is involved with users directl'. There ma' be several di;erent t'pes of clients coe7isting& such as +2C& +indow form& -TM$ web page and etc. C6e#t pre)e#ter a+er= contains the presentation logic needed b' clients& such as 1"2 .N>T MV) in " web server. 1lso it adapts di;erent clients to the business la'er. Business layer = handles and encapsulates all of business domains and logics0 also called domain la'er. Persistence layer : handles the readJwrite of the business data to the data la'er& also called data access la'er (1$. Data layer = the e7ternal data source& such as a database. 2.3.2. C6e#t;"er7er Databa)e "+)te!)
Microsoft "#$ "erver is designed to wor% e;ectivel' in a number of environments= • •
1s a two!tier or multitier clientJserver database s'stem 1s a des%top database s'stem
)lientJserver s'stems are constructed so that the database can reside on a central computer& %nown as a server& and be shared among several users. sers access the server through a client or server application= n a two!tier clientJserver s'stem& users run an application on their local computer& %nown as a client that connects over a networ% to the server running "#$ "erver. The client application runs both business logic and the code to displa' output to the user& and is also %nown as a thic% client. •
-aving data stored and managed in a central location o;ers several advantages=
&0
>ach data item is stored in a central location where all users can wor% with it. "eparate copies of the item are not stored on each client& which eliminates problems with users having to ensure the' are all wor%ing with the same information. • Business and securit' rules can be de
Cor e7ample& if an application wor%ing with a
The server can be stored in a relativel' secure location and e?uipped with devices such as an ninterruptable 2ower "uppl' (2" more economicall' than full' protecting each client. &&
Maintenance tas%s such as bac%ing up and restoring data are simpli
Fi! %. Client/Serer 1atabase Systems
2.3.3 De)
+hile "#$ "erver wor%s e;ectivel' as a server& it can also be used in applications that need stand!alone databases stored locall' on the client. "#$ "erver can con
+hen clients use local "#$ "erver databases& one cop' of the "#$ "erver database engine runs on the client and manages all the "#$ "erver databases on the client. 1pplications connect to the database engine in much the same wa' the' connect across the networ% to a database engine running on a remote server.
Fi! . 1es2top computer
2.3.$ C6e#t Co!po#e#t)
sers do not access Microsoft "#$ "erver directl'0 instead& the' use an application written to access the data in "#$ "erver. This can include utilities that come with "#$ "erver& third part' applications that run on "#$ "erver& or inhouse applications developed b' programmers at the "#$ "erver site. "#$ "erver can also be accessed through )@M& Microsoft 1ctiveP& or +indows istributed interNet 1pplications 1rchitecture (+indows N1 components. 1pplications are written to access "#$ "erver through a database application programming interface (12. 1 database 12 contains two parts= •
The language statements passed to the database.
The language used with "#$ "erver is Transact!"#$. Transact! "#$ supports all "#$!43 >ntr' $evel "#$ statements and man' additional "#$!43 features. t also supports the @B) &
e7tensions to "#$!43 and other e7tensions speci
Native 12 support means the 12 function calls are mapped directl' to the networ% protocol sent to the server. There is no intermediate translation to another 12 needed. "#$ "erver provides native support for two main classes of database 12s= •
@$> B
"#$ "erver includes a native @$> B provider. The provider supports applications written using @$> B& or other 12s that use @$> B& such as 1ctiveP ata @bjects (1@. Through the native provider& "#$ "erver also supports objects or components using @$> B& such as 1ctiveP& 1@& or +indows N1 applications. •
@B)
"#$ "erver includes a native @B) driver. The driver supports applications or components written using @B)& or other 12s using @B)& such as 1@& E@& and the Microsoft Coundation )lasses (MC) database classes.
&'
Fi! '.client computer
2.$ "o9t8are De7eop!e#t 'etho*oo+ Re76e8
This section provides a literature review on "oftware >ngineering Methodolog'. "oftware engineering is the practice of using selected process techni?ues to improve the ?ualit' of a software development e;ort. This is based on the assumption& subject to endless debate and supported b' patient e7perience& that a methodical approach to software development results in fewer defects and& therefore& ultimatel' provides shorter deliver' times and better value. The documented collection of policies& processes and procedures used b' a development team or organi6ation to practice software engineering is called its software development methodolog' or s'stem development life c'cle ("$). The discussion of the software methodolog' has been divided into few sections namel' software process& techni?ue& model and tools. 2.$.1 "o9t8are De7eop!e#t Pro0e)) 'o*e &
There is various software development approaches deach process model follows a particular life c'cle in order to ensure success in process of software development. 1ccording to the surve' there are a lot of debates about selecting and following a specingineering Methodolog'= The +ater "luice” b' Eon Burbac%& in the original description of the +aterfall software engineering methodolog'& there is an interactive bac% step between each stage. Thus the +aterfall is a combination of a se?uential methodolog' with an interactive bac% step or feedbac%. Cigure 3.K depict the phases in the traditional +aterfall model. 1ll these phases are cascaded to each other so that second phase is started as and when de
5 "o9t8are De)6# Before a starting for actual coding& it is highl' important to understand what we are going to create and what it should loo% li%e. The re?uirement speciach unit is developed and tested for its functionalit'. nit testing mainl' veriver' phase has a de
•
&+
easier to catch and correct possible /aws at the design stage rather than at the testing stage. A6* e06e#t <#o8e*e tra#)9er Because the
•
Fig 5: Waterfall Model
espite the seemingl' obvious advantages& the waterfall model has come in for a fair share of criticism in recent times. The most prominent criticism revolves around the fact that ver' often& customers do not reall' %now what the' want up! front& and rather what the' want emerges over time. n this situation& the waterfall model with its emphasis on up!front re?uirements capture and design is seen as somewhat unrealistic and unsuitable R4S. Curther& given the uncertain nature of customer needs& estimating time and costs with an' degree of accurac' as the model suggests is often e7tremel' di*cult. n general& therefore& this model is recommended for use onl' in projects which are relativel' stable and where customer needs can be clearl' identi
2.$.1.2 Rat6o#a U#6e* Pro0e))
&
The Eational nilaboration& )onstruction and Transition phases are divided into a series of time bo7ed iterations as shown in ach iteration results in an increment& which is a release of the s'stem that contains added or improved functionalit' compared with the previous release. Collowing are the characteristic of this process= U)e Ca)e Dr67e#. se cases are used to capture the functional re?uirements and to deach iteration ta%es a set of use cases or scenarios from re?uirements all the wa' through implementation& test and deplo'ment. Ar0h6te0t4re Ce#tr60. This process insists that architecture sit at the heart of the project teams e;orts to shape the s'stem. "ince no single model is su*cient to cover all aspects of a s'stem& the nilaboration phase. This partial implementation of the s'stem serves to validate the architecture and act as a foundation for remaining development. R6)< Fo04)e*. This process re?uires the project team to focus on addressing the most critical ris%s earl' in the project life c'cle. The deliverables of each iteration& especiall' in the >laboration phase& must be selected in order to ensure that the greatest ris%s are addressed
•
•
&
Fig 6: RUP Model
Eeferring to
Most promote development iterations& teamwor%& collaboration& and process adaptabilit' throughout the life! c'cle of the project. There are man' speci
increments with minimal planning& and dont directl' involve long!term planning. terations are short time frames that t'picall' last from one to four wee%s. The term “agile” leads to a development process that is more responsive to customer needs compared traditional methods. 1gile methodologies believe that adaptabilit' to changing re?uirements at an' point during the project life is a more realistic and better approach than attempting to deach iteration is wor%ed on b' a team through a full software development c'cle& including planning& re?uirements anal'sis& design& coding& unit testing& and acceptance testing. n traditional s'stem development methods the re?uirements for the s'stem are determined at the beginning of the development project and often <7ed from that point on. This means that the cost of changing the re?uirements at a later stage will be high. 5 E!pha)6) o# 0o*6#. 1gile argue that the onl' trul' important product of the s'stem development process is code. )oding can be drawing diagrams that will generate code& scripting a web!based s'stem or coding a program that needs to be compiled. 5 E!pha)6) o# te)t6#. Testing is one of the core roots of agile development. Both acceptance tests and unit tests are used. nit test should be automated tests that test the code. The programmer will tr' to write as man' tests he or she can thin% of that might brea% the code he or she is writing0 if all tests run successfull' then the coding is complete. 5 L6)te#6# to 04)to!er #ee*). )ommunication between the customer and programmer need to be established. The programmer has to tr' to understand the business problem& and to give the customer feedbac% about his or her problem& to improve the customers own understanding of his or her problem. 5 "o9t8are Ar0h6te0t4re De)6# 6) opt6o#a. "ome of the agile methodolog' did not emphasis on design. >7treme 2rogramming (P2 for e7ample& believe that from the point of view of simplicit'& one could sa' that s'stem development doesnt need more than coding& testing and listening. f those activities are performed well& the result should alwa's be a %&
s'stem that wor%s. 1ccording to the stud'& P2 use )lass! Eesponsibilit'!)ollaboration ()E) card based on clientLs stor' to capture re?uirement. 5 E!pha)6) o# "o9t8are Reea)e . 1 Eelease is a piece of development where the customer gets some new software. Through fast iteration& 1gile stress on product releases which can be done from 3 wee%s to 5 months. teration ma' not add enough functionalit' to warrant a mar%et release& but the goal is to have an available release with minimal bugs at the end of each iteration. 1gile process is suitable for the project where product release is important factor. t also re?uires huge sta; and later brea% into group which tac%le speci
%%
Cig K= 1gile Model
2.$.1.$ "4!!ar+ o9 "o9t8are Pro0e)) 'o*e
This section provides the brief comparison between "oftware 2rocess Model that being studied in this project. -owever the comparison is not done in deep manner& rather the compare about the usage and common characteristic. Table 3.: shows the comparison. %
Fig 8: Software process summary
2.$.2 "o9t8are Te0h#6B4e) The favorable software techni?ue in this project is +ater fall model which is helped to develop the product ver' traditional wa'. Being m'
"oftware model is an abstract representation of the s'stem to be built& the s'stem being built& and the s'stem that was built. The model therefore evolves with the s'stem and is a major part of ever' phase of the project. The model is a collection of artifacts& each one representing a view of the s'stem. The model is used b' nearl' ever' member of the team ranging from the sta%eholders to s'stem implementer. Collowing are the %e' features that the software model provides= 5 ep !a#ae 0o!pe?6t+ 1s s'stems become increasingl' comple7& the' e7tend be'ond the abilit' of an' one individual to comprehend. )ontracting an abstract model to the s'stem helps manage this comple7it'. 5 Cear 76e8 o9 0o!po#e#t a))o06at6o# 1 good model will be able to tell which components are associated with which use cases and in which capacities. Thus& it helps to predict the relative impact that change re?uest might ma%e to the s'stem. 5 Tra0eab66t+ The abilit' to start with one element of the model and trace its collaboration and connection to other parts of the model. Traceabilit' enables project managers to navigate the model to help ngineering ()1"> tools is s'non'm to the software tools. )1">s are designed to enhance programs that aid the development c'cle of the s'stem. The tools assist software engineers and dedicated programmers through preliminar' investigation and s'stem anal'sis. +henever a new s'stem is installed& the implementation integrates a number of related and di;erent tas%s. The process has to be e*cientl' organi6ed and it is for this ver' reason that )1"> tools are developed. )1"> tools are largel' mar%eted and understood as= nvestigation& anal'sis and design& or Cront!>nd )1"> mplementation and installation& or Bac%!>nd )1"> • •
%
+or%ing in software development in general re?uires speci tools are developed for the following reasons= • • • • • •
ncrease the speed during s'stem development. #uic%er installation. >nhanced anal'sis and design development. @ptimum use of available information. )reate and manipulate documentation. >nrich graphical techni?ues and data /ow.
The following section will describe the tools being used during development of the s'stem. 2.$.$.1 V6)4a "t4*6o 2:1: IDE
Microsoft Visual "tudio is an integrated development environment (> from Microsoft. t is used to develop console and graphical user interface applications along with +indows Corms or +2C applications& web sites& web applications& and web services in both native code together with managed code for all platforms supported b' Microsoft +indows& +indows Mobile& +indows )>& .N>T Cramewor%& .N>T )ompact Cramewor% and Microsoft "ilver light. Visual "tudio includes a code editor supporting ntelli"ense as well as code refactoring. The integrated debugger wor%s both as a source!level debugger and a machine!level debugger. @ther built!in tools include a forms designer for building , applications& web designer& class designer& and database schema designer. t accepts plug!ins that enhance the functionalit' at almost ever' levelincluding adding support for source!control s'stems (li%e "ubversion and Visual "ource"afe and adding new toolsets li%e editors and visual designers for domain!speci7plorer. Visual "tudio supports di;erent programming languages b' means of language services& which allow the code editor and debugger to support (to var'ing degrees nearl' an' programming language& provided a language!speci
e7ists. Built!in languages include )J)UU& VB.N>T& Visual )& and C . The .NET Fra!e8or< (pronounced dot net is a software framewor% developed b' Microsoft that runs primaril' on Microsoft +indows. t includes a large librar' and provides language interoperabilit' (each language can use code written in other languages across several programming languages. 2rograms written for the .N>T Cramewor% e7ecute in a software environment (as contrasted to hardware environment& %nown as the )ommon $anguage Euntime ()$E& an application virtual machine that provides services such as securit'& memor' management& and e7ception handling. The class librar' and the )$E together constitute the .N>T Cramewor%. The .N>T Cramewor%s Base )lass $ibrar' provides user interface& data access& database connectivit'& cr'ptograph'& web application development& numeric algorithms& and networ% communications. 2rogrammers produce software b' combining their own source code with the .N>T Cramewor% and other libraries. The .N>T Cramewor% is intended to be used b' most new applications created for the +indows platform. Microsoft also produces an integrated development environment largel' for .N>T software called Visual "tudio. 2.$.$.2 "L "er7er 2::
"#$ "erver 399I (formerl' codenamed QWatmaiQ was released on 1ugust 5& 399I and aims to ma%e data management self!tuning& self organi6ing& and self maintaining with the development of SQL Server Always On technologies& to provide near!6ero downtime. "#$ "erver 399I also includes support for structured and semi!structured data& including digital media formats for pictures& audio& video and other multimedia data. n current versions& such multimedia data can be stored as B$@Bs (binar' large objects& but the' are generic bit streams. ntrinsic awareness of multimedia data will allow speciali6ed functions to be performed on them. 1ccording to 2aul Clessner& senior Vice 2resident& "erver 1pplications& Microsoft )orp.& "#$ "erver 399I can be a data storage bac%end for diferent varieties o data: XML, email, time/calendar, le, doc!ment, s"atial, etc as well as perform %+
searc#, $!ery, analysis, s#aring, and sync#roni%ation across all data t'pes.
@ther new data t'pes include speciali6ed date and time t'pes and a s"atial data t'pe for location!dependent data. Better support for unstructured and semi!structured data is provided using the new &IL'S()'AM R data t'pe& which can be used to reference an' as well as compression of bac%ups. "#$ "erver 399I supports the 1@.N>T >ntit' Cramewor% and the reporting tools& replication& and data dentit' ata Model. "#$ "erver Eeporting "ervices will gain charting capabilities from the integration of the data visuali6ation products from undas ata Visuali6ation& nc.& which was ac?uired b' Microsoft. @n the management side& "#$ "erver 399I includes the +eclarative Management &ramewor which allows conngine. "#$ "erver 399I also ma%es the databases available via +indows 2ower "hell providers and management functionalit' available as )mdlets& so that the server and all the running instances can be managed from +indows 2ower "hell.
%
2.$.$.3 "AP CR&"TRAL REPORT Cr+)ta Report) is a business intelligence application used to
design and generate reports from a wide range of data sources. "everal other applications& including Microsoft Visual "tudio& at one time bundled an @>M version of )r'stal Eeports as a general purpose reporting tool. )r'stal Eeports is a popular report writer& especiall' when Microsoft bundled it with Visual "tudio versions 399F through 399I. Microsoft discontinued this practice and later released their own competitive reporting tool& "#$ "erver Eeporting "ervices (""E". )r'stal Eeports for Visual "tudio 39:9 is still available as add!on software. )r'stal Eeports allows users to graphicall' design data connection(s and report la'out. n the atabase >7pert& users can select and lin% tables from a wide variet' of data sources& including Microsoft >7cel spreadsheets& @racle databases& %
Microsoft "#$ "erver databases& Microsoft 1ccess databases& Business @bjects >nterprise business views& and local
which
can
be
applied absolutel' or
conditionall'. The data can be grouped into bands& each of which can be split further and conditionall' suppressed as needed. )r'stal Eeports also supports sub reports& graphing& and a limited amount of ," functionalit'.
"upported ata "ource are! •
atabases such as 2ostgre"#$& "'base& BM B3& ngres&
Microsoft 1ccess& Microsoft "#$ "erver& M'"#$& nterbase and @racle •
Btrieve
•
"preadsheets such as Microsoft >7cel
•
Te7t
•
PM$ Ciles
•
,roupware
applications
as
$otus
Notes&
Microsoft
>7change and Novell ,roup+ise •
"12= B+& nfo "ets& Tables& and
Business @bjects
niverses
0
