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Setting up the report environment

In this lesson, you create a report from a predefined BIRT report template. You open the Report Design perspective, and add the GSDB physical data model as a data source to the report.

In the previous lesson, you connected your database and you created the data model. Now you can create reports that are based on that data model. Use the Report Design perspective to create reports that you or application developers can use to create or enhance business applications. For example, you can use a BIRT template to create a report about the tables and columns that contain sales data. Business managers, developers, and database administrators can use the report to determine if new tables or columns are needed when updating the tables to store additional types of sales data.

In this tutorial, you will create a report that contains the names and data types of columns. This type of report is useful to application developers who want to identify the columns that contain data that might be useful for the applications that they develop. You also can use the Report Design perspective to design other types of reports that list the data within your data model.

The BIRT report template, BlankPhysicalModel.rptdesign contains predefined data sets that are based on the information that is in a physical design model. The data sets in the report design organize information from a data model into tables that the Report Designer perspective can use to create a report. Each data set is like a table and set of columns. The data source contains the data that populates the BIRT tables.

You define the GSDB physical data model as the data source for your report, and you add elements from the data sets to the report layout. For example, you add elements that represent the column names and table names in the data model.

When you run a report, the report lists the column names and table names from the GSDB model.

To set up the report environment:

  1. Open the Report Explorer view:
    1. Click Window > Show View > Other. The Show View window opens.
    2. Expand the Reporting node, then select the Report Explorer option.
    The Report Explorer view opens and lists the groups of report templates.
    Figure 1. Report Explorer view
    Report Explorer view listing physical data model templates
  2. Copy the Blank physical Data Model Report (BlankPhysicalModel.rptdesign) template to the Other Files folder:
    1. In the Report Explorer view, expand the Physical Data Model node, then right-click Blank physical Data Model Report (BlankPhysicalModel.rptdesign) and click Copy.
    2. In the Data Project Explorer, expand the IDA-Reports folder, right-click the Other Files folder and click Paste.
    3. In the Data Project Explorer, right-click IDA-Reports > Other Files > BlankPhysicalModel.rptdesign and click Rename. The Rename Resource window opens.
    4. In the Rename Resource window, specify MyTest for the new resource name and click OK.
    Copy of the report design in the Other Files folder
  3. Open the Report Design perspective.
    1. From the main menu, click Window > Open Perspective > Other. The Open Perspective window opens.
    2. In the Open Perspective window, select Report Design.
    The perspective opens. The default Report Design perspective contains the following views:
    • Palette
    • Data Explorer
    • Resource Explorer
    • Navigator
    • Outline
    • Property Editor
    • Problems
    The Palette, Data Explorer, Outline, and Property Editor views are empty until you open a report design in the Report Editor view.

    Not all the views are visible. For example, the Navigator and Outline views are configured so that only one view is visible. Click the tab to display the other view.

  4. Open the MyTest.rptdesign file in the Report Editor view. In the Navigator view, expand the IDA-Reports folder and double-click the MyTest.rptdesign file. The report opens in the Report Editor.
    The MyTest.rptdesign report in the Report Editor and the Report Design perspective

    In this tutorial, you use the Report Editor Layout and Preview pages.

  5. Add the GSDB physical data model as a BIRT data source:
    1. In the Data Explorer, expand the Data Sources folder, then right-click the Data Source object and click Edit. The Edit Data Source - Data Source window opens.
    2. On the Models page, click Add. The Load Resource window opens.
    3. In the Load Resource window, click Browse workspace. The File Selection window opens.
    4. Select GSDB.dbm under the IDA-Report node and click OK.
    5. Click OK to load the data model resource.
    The GSDB physical data model is listed as an instance model on the Models page.
    GSDB.dbm model listed as an instance model.

You set up your project with a blank report and added the GSDB physical data model as a data source for the report.

In the Data Explorer, you see the data sets that are defined for the report. These data sets are specific to the report. The data sets require an InfoSphere® Data Architect physical data model as a data source.

The report templates that are listed in the Report Explorer are organized according to the types of data models that the data sets are defined to use. For example, the report templates in the Logical Data Model folder have data sets that are designed to use a logical data model as a data source.

Your report environment is set up. Next, you will start to edit the report template so that application developers can use the report.
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