With the release of SQL Server 2005, Microsoft introduced the revamped Microsoft Reporting Services 2005. In this article, we will take a look at the enhancements included in this new release, specifically focusing on the Report Programming aspect.

Report Development Environment

In SQL Server 2005, reports are created using the SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio, which is a subset of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. This development environment is installed as a program group when you install SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. By opening the Business Intelligence Development Studio, you can create reports, DTS Packages (now called Integration Services), as well as Analysis Services Projects.

To create a new report, you can select the “Report Server Project” icon in the “New Project” dialog box. Once the project is created, you can add a new report by right-clicking the Reports icon in the Solution Explorer and selecting “Add new item…”.

Multi-Value Parameters

A significant improvement in Reporting Services 2005 is the ability to have multi-valued parameters. In previous versions, this feature was not available. With multi-value parameters, you can select multiple values for a parameter, providing more flexibility in report filtering. This enhancement allows for more dynamic and interactive reports.

Expressions

The Expression Editor in Reporting Services 2005 has been completely rewritten to better serve the needs of developers. It now includes Intellisense, which provides suggestions and auto-completion while writing report expressions. The Expression Editor also includes a tree view of common functions, making it easier to select and use the desired functions. Additionally, expressions now support a wide range of operators, providing more flexibility in report calculations and formatting.

End-User Interactive Sorting

Another useful feature introduced in Reporting Services 2005 is the ability to give end-users the ability to sort report data. This feature can be easily implemented by adding a table to the report designer and enabling interactive sorting for the desired columns. This allows end-users to sort the report data based on their preferences, enhancing the interactivity and usability of the reports.

Printing Enhancements

In previous versions of Reporting Services, changing the layout of a report from landscape to portrait required manually flipping the page width and height in the report properties. However, in Reporting Services 2005, a new Page Setup icon is available in the Preview mode, making it easier to change the layout of the report without modifying the report properties.

Conclusion

These new features in SQL Server Reporting Services 2005 may seem like small additions, but they greatly enhance developer productivity and improve the overall user experience. It is hoped that Microsoft will continue to add more features to Reporting Services in the future. For those still using SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services, these new features would be a significant benefit if they were made available in that version as well.

Happy reporting!