JasperReports is the world's most popular embeddable Java open source reporting library, providing Java developers with the power to easily create rich print and web reports. This book shows you exactly how to get started, and develop the skills to get the most from JasperReports.
The book steers you through each point of report setup, to creating, designing, formatting, and exporting reports with data from a wide range of datasources, and integrating JasperReports with other Java frameworks.
Starting with the basics of adding reporting capabilities to your application, and creating report templates you will first see how to produce your reports through the use of JRXML files, custom ANT targets, and then see preview them in both the browser and the native browser of JasperReports.
Getting data into your reports is the next step, and you will see how to get data from a range of datasources, not only databases, but XML files, and Java Objects, among others.You will create better looking reports with formatting and grouping, as well as adding graphical elements to the report. You will export your reports to a range of different formats, including PDF and XML. Creating reports will be made even easier with a walkthrough of the iReport Designer visual designing tool. To round things off, you will see how to integrate your reports with other Java frameworks, using Spring or Hibernate to get data for the report, and Java Server Faces or Struts for presenting the report.
The book covers:
Overview of JasperReports, and what it can do for you Adding reporting capabilities to your application Creating and formatting reports Report layout and design Working with database datasources Working with other types of datasource such as arrays, collections, TableModels and XML Creating subreports Adding charts and graphics to a report Working with the iReport report designer Exporting reports to PDF, Excel spreadsheet or Word document format Integrating JasperReports with other Java frameworks like Spring, Java Server Faces, Struts, and Hibernate
This book is a concise and practical guide aimed at getting the results you want as quickly as possible. This book is for Java developers who want to create rich reports for either the web or print, and want to get started quickly with JasperReports to do this. No knowledge of JasperReports is presumed, although obviously familiarity with Java, SQL, and XML are assumed where they are required.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Well Written, but POORLY Indexed:
This is a pretty well written book, but it's lacking in two respects: 1) The index is terrible. You literally have to thumb through the book to find what you're looking for. For a technical manual, this is inexcusable and greatly reduces the usability of the book. 2) The examples are far too trivial and it never ups the ante so you can see JasperReport examples that are closer to "real world."
Heffelfinger Shows us the Yellow Brick Road:
Heffelfinger's book meets all my tests for excellence in technical manuals. First, it addresses a development problem I am having today; and it is the only book on the market - including books and articles published by the vendor - that does so. Other favorable attributes include these: the book is less than 3/4ths of an inch thick, weighs less than a pound; cost less than $50 bucks; and there is more white space than dense text. Some authors of technical books must think we buy their books in order to... more info
Good Introduction To Jasper Reports:
I was looking for complex examples on crosstab reports but found only basic examples. I wish they had a chapter on Dynamic reports and a section describing the jasper report object model. Otherwise it is a good introduction into Jasper Reports as it goes through all the features (rather than searching through the jasper report forum).
Finally a good JasperReports Resource:
There is such a dearth of documentation on JasperReports. This is a very nice explanation on how to use it, there a good set of examples.
