How to report?
February 6, 2008 12:10 PM Subscribe
I need to create a web interface to both static and dynamic reports, how should I go about this?
So I generate reports, these days mostly using crystal reports, but I can do my own with perl and sql and such. I have been tasked with creating a reporting hub that can host static and on-demand queries.
Here are some requirements:
-I need to give access to people both in and outside the company
-Granular security to the level of document and login, ideally with groups
-Static documents that are already generated automatically by programs
-Dynamic documents that query a database based on user supplied input probably with some additional processing
-Free or very low cost
-Windows or RedHat Linux (preferably linux)
-Setup-able in a reasonable amount of time
And here are my ideas for going about it:
-Build my own using the web-server security, html docs and cgi's
I can do this. Have the skills.
-Learn Ruby on Rails and build a system with that.
Would be fun and educational to learn. I am told RoR is a snap, but I don't really know what can and cannot be done.
-Get a CMS that allows this sort of thing
Could be more flexible in the long run. There has been some interest some simple project management tools. No idea which cms (sorta looking at webgui). No idea how hard these are to setup and manage.
Anybody ever do any thing like this? If CMS can you recommend a system?
So I generate reports, these days mostly using crystal reports, but I can do my own with perl and sql and such. I have been tasked with creating a reporting hub that can host static and on-demand queries.
Here are some requirements:
-I need to give access to people both in and outside the company
-Granular security to the level of document and login, ideally with groups
-Static documents that are already generated automatically by programs
-Dynamic documents that query a database based on user supplied input probably with some additional processing
-Free or very low cost
-Windows or RedHat Linux (preferably linux)
-Setup-able in a reasonable amount of time
And here are my ideas for going about it:
-Build my own using the web-server security, html docs and cgi's
I can do this. Have the skills.
-Learn Ruby on Rails and build a system with that.
Would be fun and educational to learn. I am told RoR is a snap, but I don't really know what can and cannot be done.
-Get a CMS that allows this sort of thing
Could be more flexible in the long run. There has been some interest some simple project management tools. No idea which cms (sorta looking at webgui). No idea how hard these are to setup and manage.
Anybody ever do any thing like this? If CMS can you recommend a system?
This thread is closed to new comments.
We have implemented something broadly similar using Sharepoint and custom code and are reworking it to use Sharepoint + SQL Server Reporting Services.
SSRS is really slick from a publish and deploy standpoint but all this stuff works best in an Active Directory world.
Even if that isn't your world, you might still want to look at it so you can see how The Beast handles the problem so you can then start looking for competing solutions.
In any case, this probably isn't a "one guy" problem for an organization of any size. You probably don't want to reinvent the authentication and access control wheel, for example.
posted by mrbugsentry at 3:10 PM on February 6, 2008