Fetching report data

You can obtain the data for the report in several ways.

From a database using SQL
You can use SQL statements to retrieve the data for the report from database tables, requiring a connection to the database and the use of an SQL cursor.
From a data file
You can get the report data from a data file - one created by the BDL UNLOAD statement, for example.
From an XML file
You can get the report data from an XML file instead of getting it directly from a database.
From a Web Service
Web Services can be used to fetch data for a report. BDL functions allow you to access a web service and retrieve data, storing it in BDL program variables.