Datasheet

What Is Crystal Reports?
In simplest terms, Crystal Reports is a report design tool that allows you to create reports capable of
retrieving and formatting a result set from a database or other data source. In addition to simply reading
data from a data source, Crystal Reports has its own formula language for creating calculations and
includes a number of features that can be used to turn raw data into presentation-quality reports, with
graphs, charts, running totals, and so on.
If you look at all of the different types of reports that can be created using Crystal Reports, shown in
Figure 1-1, you will find that they are as varied as the developer or end user who created them.
You can create reports that range from a simple list with only a few columns to a complex management
report that shows multiple graphs, tables, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The flexibility of the
report designer means that it can be used for many different types of output, depending on your needs.
In addition to a powerful toolset for creating reports, Crystal Reports also features a number of
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and tools specifically created for developers to allow them
to integrate these reports into their own applications. To help understand these features and how they
are used, we are going to have a brief look at the history of the products leading up to this release of
Crystal Reports .NET.
Figure 1-1
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