Genero Report Writer – BETA Early Access Program now open

Irving, Texas – January 30, 2009 — Four Js Development Tools is pleased to announce the opening of the Genero Report Writer v1.00.02  BETA  Early Access Program (EAP) today January 30, 2009. See the “How to subscribe” section.

Genero Report Writer

Genero Report Writer is a new graphical reporting suite integrated with Genero. It includes a Report Designer, a Report Engine, and a Report Viewer.

Genero Report Writer makes it easier to write and maintain large numbers of business reports within your organization, with no limitation on the number of pages you can print. It clearly separates the activities of gathering the data and graphically designing the report. You can change the graphical presentation of the reports independently; eventually you can allow third parties to make changes, with access restricted to graphical changes.

The report data are produced using the Genero BDL language, giving you the flexibility to merge multiple data sources in real time (databases, web services, files or computed in memory), and to secure access to the database by defining the data streams that can be pushed out. As a result, Genero Report Writer does not require the use of temporary tables or unsynchronized copies of the database for reporting purposes.

The graphical representation of your report is created using Genero Report Designer. You can write quick and simple reports by positioning elements in your report, or use the layouting feature to write a single report that adapts to multiple page formats and multiple languages without data truncation. Specific components – page headers/footers, group headers/footers, barcodes, graphs and charts, …  –  are available for business reporting.

Genero Report Engine uses a data streaming technology to reduce memory usage to the minimum, and provides the capability to print large reports with minimal lead-time before the display of the first page*. It uses the open standards XML, SVG, and PDF for report definitions and viewing.

* Full data streaming is available when you use the Genero Report Viewer (Not available for PDF format).

Changes that have been applied since the Alpha version

  • Packaging:
    • The Genero Report Viewer (GRV) is now part of the Genero Desktop Client package.
  • Objects and properties:
    • Charts and graphs are now available (it was originally planned for future version)
    • The “Stripe” Object has been replaced with the multi-purpose “MiniPage” Object (use embedded property)
    • The DecimalFormatBox Object has been added to format numbers
    • The expression “String Numeric.format(String format)” is now available in RTL expressions
    • Attributes and values have been renamed
  • New functionality has been added to the reporting API  to handle :
    • Multi-pages
    • Labels
    • Silent printing (18 print options)
    • Legacy Text reports “as is” display as graphics
  • Ergonomics
    • Filter field in the Data view and alphabetical sort to search for a field by its name
    • Double click on a Toolbox or Data view now inserts the element in the document
    • Additional error/warnings reporting in the Document errors
    • Ergonomics for moving elements in the structure view have been enhanced
    • Expression editor dialog (highlighting, completion and performance) has been improved
    • Data samples entered in the Data view are stored

Beta Software

Genero Report Writer is currently “Beta” software made available through an Early Access Program (EAP). This software is provided for testing purposes and should by no means be installed on a production machine. The features shown in this product are not in their final state and will change by the time of the release; in particular, reports that are designed might not be compatible with the final version of the software.

The participants of the EAP program agree to give feedback on the software by the end of the Beta program by answering the survey that will be provided.

How to subscribe

If you have not yet subscribed to the Beta program you can still request this;  you must have a Four Js web site account (“My Account”) that enables access to privileged technical information.

* Go on our website https://www.4js.com/
* Log to “My Account”
* In the bottom right corner of the Four Js web site home page click on the link  “Support Services”
* Then click on the “Early Access Programs” icon
* Choose the Genero Report Writer EAP and click on “Subscribe”
* Four Js will send an acknowledgment of your subscription within 24 hours (Monday -> Friday).
* Upon approval, you will get access to the download section and the associated mailing list.

We appreciate your interest in pre-release access to our products, and value your feedback. Thank you for your participation in this important phase of our product development.

Best Regards,

The Four Js Genero Report Writer Team