Arch Brooks, Software Engineer

BCS Ace Reporter Code Generator

The Ace Reporter Professional Edition is a superior report generation sub engine that is data aware and has interfaces for report preview and printing to any printer connected to the target platform. Because it is a native Visual Control Library (VCL) component for Delphi that allows you to easily create complex banded reports. Additionally cross tab reporting and perfunctory summary reporting capabilities are available. TwoPass report capability lets you display Page X of Y, or do complex calculations. Ace Reporter Pro allows users to easily create complex banded reports that are linked directly into your programmed executable modules. Languages currently supported include Delphi and C++ for the windows personality.

Typically a form is used to hold the report or reports produced via Ace Reporter Pro. Multiple reports may reside in a single form but for clarity I decided to keep a one to one relationship with forms and reports. If additional reports need to be added to the form simply go to the Ace Reporter tab and drag the Ace Reporter component onto the form and release. That action creates another instantiation of a report.

The BCS Ace Reporter Code Generator dynamically generates the aforementioned form with instance of the Ace Reporter report included. The generated source code also has the required code to create, load and execute the associated form and thusly the report in the windows environment. The report heading may also be changed from default assignments to something that may be more appropriate for the targeted report. This feature rich capability is available to allow the user flexibility without changing the form or report object. This approach offers a greater level of stability and maintainability for the newly generated form and housed report.

While designing your application you generally will identify a certain number of reports required to successfully achieve the desired functionality of assigned task. As an example if you require ten reports to complete the assignment simply go to the code generator key in a prefix, then identify a starting number, then identify the number of reports. Finally the target path of the generated code must be identified and click the Execute control. These controls are on the Report Generation Option Tab (which is the default). Optionally the Report Headings Tab may be clicked to change the default report heading values. Of course the headings should be changed prior to clicking the Execute control.

The start number allows the user to add reports at a later time using the same criterion. The first execution the start number is 1 and if we generate 10 reports source code for reports 1 thru 10 would be generated. If subsequently five more reports are required simply return of the code generator with the same prefix and a start number of 11 and the number of reports is 5 then reports 11 thru 15 are generated. This process is repeated until all required reports are generated.

This feature is designed expressly for this purpose and is achieved by strictly enforcing a viable naming convention for identifying generated reports.
It takes only a few seconds to generate ten or one hundred fully functional reports. Without the code generator this activity could take weeks and possibly months to fulfill.

Please feel free to visit my web site at the following URL below.

Mr. Arch Brooks, Software Engineer
http://archbrooks.com

VCL

There is a tutorial that shows the BCS Ace Report Pro code generator in action

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posted by archman @ 2:30 PM