Technical Blog Post
Abstract
BiLog: Flexible English Bulldogs...Report Parameter Options and Benefits
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While getting our English Bulldog ready for Halloween on Saturday (reference last week’s BiLog entry on an unexpected snow storm which delayed the Halloween Happenings!)....I kept thinking that in contrast to Max’s very stubborn demeanor….his costume is amazingly simple and flexible. Max is a reindeer for Halloween, a reindeer for Christmas, and a reindeer again when we ring in the New Year!
Just like Max’s diverse, flexible reindeer costume, Maximo reports are very flexible in that they can be executed against three different sets of parameter types. These types are:
1. Parameterized Reports
2. Application Reports
3. Both Parameterized and Application Reports
Application Reports are significantly different as they have
no parameters specified, and instead execute against the current/selected
record set passed from the application. These are often referred to as Launch in
Context reports, or executing against the Where Clause. Application reports enable the most
flexibility as your users can utilize a broad range of filters, queries and
even the advanced where clause to derive their specific application query.
The third parameter type, Parameterized and Application Reports, combines the first and second by enabling an application report to execute along with user defined
parameters. These reports execute
against both your users inputted parameter values, plus the current/selected
record set that is passed to the report.
Each of these three
parameter types has its own unique attributes…but how do you know which parameter
type to select for your custom report type?
There is no one rule that can always be applied to determine the
best parameter type for your unique custom report. However, there are a number of items to
consider when selecting which of the three parameter types you may want to use.
The two most commonly used parameter types are application
and parameterized. As you can see from
this chart, a report using the application parameters will give you much
more flexibility than a parameterized report.
This flexibility includes all the items highlighted in the chart below.
For more details on each of the report types, reference the Designing Reports Wiki Page located here or the Designing V7 Report Guide, which is listed along with other V7 Report Reference Materials at this wiki page
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