Frequently Asked Questions
Is xReports' performance really significantly better than that of comparable reporting applications?
How would you compare xReports with a data warehousing solution?
How do we integrate information from different applications or sources within xReports?
What version of SQL does xReports support?
Can we control access to xReports using an SAP security model?
Is there any way to move data from external data sources into SAP using xReports?
People could still write bad queries with xReports. Wouldn't this affect performance?
How readily scalable is xReports?
Is it practical for remote users to access xReports via a slow or intermittent network connection?
Does xReports support personalised report distribution?
Does xReports support the insertion of report information into customised templates?
Is xReports' performance really significantly better than that of comparable reporting applications?
Yes.
A reporting applications' performance may be affected by many different kinds of bottlenecks and restrictions.
xReports removes some of these automatically. For example, xReports uses bind variables to minimise the need for expensive reparsing of database queries, greatly improving database efficiency. Network compression between the xReports application server and clients cuts typical response times by 10:1. Pre-spawning and reusing database connections drastically cuts database connection overheads. The xReports governor automatically terminates long-running queries.
Few, if any, comparable reporting applications employ equivalent features.
Second, by allowing developers to write queries in the native SQL for each database, xReports empowers suitably skilled developers to write well performing queries that take full advantage of the native power of each database - for example, over-riding database optimizer decisions with hints, or fully exploiting SQL extensions such as Oracle's analytic functionals (partition over, lead, lag, rollup, cube etc) or SQL Server's 'top nnn' function.
How would you compare xReports with a data warehousing solution?
Data warehousing solutions may potentially be used for more than reporting. For example, such solutions may allow users for perform complex 'what if' analysis from other applications.
However, if you are thinking of implementing a data warehousing solution just for reporting, you may well be able to achieve a similar result with less overhead by using xReports.
How do we integrate information from different applications or sources within xReports?
An xReports developer can define "data objects", each of which represents the result of a specific query run against a specific data source.
The developer can then write an SQL query that joins and selects information from multiple data objects.
Each data object may be cached. Alternatively, the query associated with each data object may run each time the data object is evaluated.
The analytic functions built into the xReports interactive browser sound amazing. Are these functions really usable automatically, with no special developer effort required?
Yes.
To support on-the-fly pivot analysis or freewheeling X by Y by Z graphic analysis and exploration by the user at runtime, the only effort required of the developer is to write a query that returns data and measures that are capable of being analysed.
Most conventional queries do this as a matter of course.
While developers have the option of defining default pivot analysis settings at design time, it is not necessary to do this in order to make pivot analysis functions fully available to users at runtime.
What version of SQL does xReports support?
xReports developers can write queries against data sources such as databases or spreadsheets using whatever flavour of SQL is appropriate for the data source concerned, taking advantage of all RDBMs-specific SQL enhancements.
The results of such a query may be passed directly to the xReports display engine, or may be stored internally in an xReports "data object".
Subsequent queries against an xReports "data object" must employ standard ANSI-compliant SQL.
It is not possible to read all SAP data directly from the database in an intelligible form. How does xReports cope with this?
xReports supports several different mechanisms for extracting information from an SAP instance.
As well as drawing information directly from the SAP database using database-specific SQL, developers may extract SAP information via an OpenSQL query, via a BAPI function call, or via an ALV or non-ALV report. Developers may also extract information from SAP pools and clusters.
Can we control access to xReports using an SAP security model?
Yes. If users access xReports via their SAP GUI, then their ability to display particular reports is automatically restricted using standard SAP security methods.
No separate logon to xReports from within the SAP GUI is required. If users are not authorised to display a report, the report is automatically removed from their report tree.
For users who access xReports via a standard web browser or who order reports via an email menu, security is controlled by xReports' own native security mechanism.
Is there any way to move data from external data sources into SAP using xReports?
Yes.
xReports includes a demonstration ABAP program that illustrates how to do this.
We would need to install the xReports application server on a Unix box. Would it be difficult to access Excel and ODBC sources from here?
No.
An xReports extension supports this requirement.
People could still write bad queries with xReports. Wouldn't this affect performance?
Yes, it could to some extent.
However, the xReports governor does automatically protect databases from long running queries, terminating these after a set period.
The behaviour of the governor is fully configurable.
How readily scalable is xReports?
xReports' three tier client server architecture makes the application highly scalable.
Both the xReports application server and data repository (xReports' own database) may be readily scaled as necessary.
Is it practical for remote users to access xReports via a slow or intermittent network connection?
Yes.
The use of network compression between the xReports interactive browser client and the xReports application server mean interactive use of xReports is feasible over quite slow network connections.
Where network connectivity is available only intermittently, users may order and access reports via email using a menu driven email interface.
Does xReports support personalised report distribution?
Yes.
xReports can automatically send personalised reports to users that contain only the information that is relevant to each user's needs.
For example, xReports can automatically email a weekly report to each cost centre owner that lists only items for that user's cost centre.
Does xReports support the insertion of report information into customised templates?
Yes.
xReports can publish report information through user-defined HTML or PDF templates.
This makes is possible, for example, to include report information in documents such as pre-designed web pages or PDF documents such as certificates.
Report information may also be formatted with a user-defined XSL stylesheet.
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