"Bruce L-C [MVP]" <bruce_lcNOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:OsRxZwkUFHA.2124@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Here is a response from a MS person:
> "Rajeev Karunakaran" <rajeevkarunakaran@online.microsoft.com> wrote in
> message news:<uI1AdthRFHA.2228@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl>...
>
> > These are answers to questions I frequently received from early adopters
>
> > (TAP customers):
>
> >
>
> > Q: Is the ReportViewer control included in SQL Server 2005?
>
> > A: No. Report Server is a component of SQL Server 2005, but the
> ReportViewer
>
> > control is not. ReportViewer is only included in Visual Studio 2005.
>
> >
>
> > Q: Does SQL Server have to be installed in order to use the ReportViewer
>
> > control?
>
> > A: No. The only dependency of the ReportViewer control is .NET Framework
>
> > 2.0.
>
> >
>
> > Q: Is a SQL Server license required to use the ReportViewer control?
>
> > A: No. The ReportViewer control is freely redistributable. It can work
>
> > independently of SQL Server ('local mode') and a SQL Server license is
not
>
> > required. In remote mode the ReportViewer control talks to a Report
> Server.
>
> > The Report Server does require a SQL Server license.
>
> >
>
> > Q: Does the data for the report have to come from a SQL Server database?
>
> > A: No. Data can come from any source. It is the host application's
>
> > responsibility to collect data from whatever source it needs to come
from,
>
> > and supply it to the control in the form of ADO.NET DataTables or a
>
> > collection of business objects. The ReportViewer control does not know
or
>
> > care where the data is coming from.
>
> >
>
> > Q: Can the ReportViewer view reports hosted on a SQL Server 2000 Report
>
> > Server?
>
> > A: No. In remote mode the ReportViewer control can only view reports
> hosted
>
> > on a SQL Server 2005 Report Server. Note that this has nothing to do
with
>
> > where the data for the report can come from. Data for the report can
come
>
> > from any source, including SQL Server 2000, Oracle, DB2 and non-database
>
> > datasources.
>
> >
>
> > Q: Is the ReportViewer control part of the .NET Framework?
>
> > A: No. The ReportViewer control is distributed with Visual Studio 2005,
> but
>
> > it is not part of the .NET Framework. The redistributable is packaged as
> an
>
> > msi.
>
> >
>
> > Q: What SKUs of Visual Studio 2005 include ReportViewer?
>
> > A: ReportViewer is included in Standard and up. (i.e., all SKUs except
>
> > Express.)
>
> >
>
> > Q: What is the difference between RDL and RDLC formats?
>
> > A: RDL files are created by the SQL Server 2005 version of Report
> Designer.
>
> > RDLC files are created by the Visual Studio 2005 version of Report
> Designer.
>
> > RDL and RDLC formats have the same XML schema. However, in RDLC files,
> some
>
> > values (such as query text) are allowed to be empty, which means that
they
>
> > are not immediately ready to be published to a Report Server. The
missing
>
> > values can be entered by opening the RDLC file using the SQL Server 2005
>
> > version of Report Designer. (You have to rename .rdlc to .rdl first.)
RDL
>
> > files are fully compatible with the ReportViewer control runtime.
However,
>
> > RDL files do not contain some information that the design-time of the
>
> > ReportViewer control depends on for automatically generating
data-binding
>
> > code. By manually binding data, RDL files can be used in the
ReportViewer
>
> > control. Note that the ReportViewer control does not contain any logic
for
>
> > connecting to databases or executing queries. By separating out such
> logic,
>
> > the ReportViewer has been made compatible with all data sources,
including
>
> > non-database data sources. However this means that when an RDL file is
> used
>
> > by the ReportViewer control, the SQL related information in the RDL file
> is
>
> > simply ignored by the control. It is the host application's
responsibility
>
> > to connect to databases, execute queries and supply data to the
> ReportViewer
>
> > control in the form of ADO.NET DataTables.
>
> >
>
> > Q: What does the C in RDLC stand for?
>
> > A: The C stands for Client-side processing.
>
> >
>
> > Q: Why doesn't the ReportViewer control support parameter prompting in
> local
>
> > mode?
>
> > A: The ReportViewer control does not prompt for parameters when in local
>
> > mode. It prompts for parameters when it is connected to a Report Server.
> In
>
> > local mode it does not make sense for ReportViewer to prompt for
> parameters.
>
> > The rationale is as follows: The most common use of report parameters is
> to
>
> > pass to queries as values of query parameters. But unlike the Report
> Server,
>
> > the ReportViewer control does not execute queries itself. Rather,
queries
>
> > are executed by the host application, and the result is passed to the
>
> > ReportViewer control. So the ReportViewer control does not have the
>
> > opportunity to set query parameters. Applications should take advantage
of
>
> > the parameterization features of Visual Studio data wizards instead.
>
> >
>
> > Q: Does xls export require Excel to be installed?
>
> > A: No. The xls export feature is independent of Excel. Excel is only
>
> > required to view the xls file.
>
> >
>
> > Q: What are the limitations of ReportViewer control?
>
> > A: Unlike the Report Server the ReportViewer control does not connect to
>
> > databases or execute queries. (But Visual Studio can generate code to do
>
> > this.) Also, in local mode the only export format available is Excel.
(In
>
> > remote mode all formats supported by the Report Server are available.)
The
>
> > ReportViewer control cannot be extended by adding custom renderers or
> custom
>
> > report items. Besides additional export formats, the Report Server
offers
>
> > better scalability, central storage, management and access control of
>
> > reports, caching, subscriptions, etc.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >--
>
> > Rajeev Karunakaran [MSFT]
>
> > Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
>
> >
>
> "JJA" <johna@cbmiweb.com> wrote in message
> news:1115389572.933996.148400@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> > Thank you, Bruce and Robert. I am new to this but I do know that I want
> > to avoid exposing Report Manager to my end users. I have my own "front
> > end" on a public access web site. Can you describe what you mean by
> > "local processing mode"? Can you point out where I can find out more
> > about the Web Form control in 2005 that supports a dataset - short of
> > installing the SQL 2005 beta?
> >
>
>