Options for data operations in reports

Genero Studio contains several options for performing data operations such as duplication, grouping, and aggregation. Your choice is determined by your requirements, including the type of data source, the flexibility of access, and importance of efficient performance.

• Write a custom data source using GROUP BY/ORDER BY in the SQL if:
  • The report needs only aggregated data, not details.
  • Performance is important.
• Use a report with ORDER EXTERNAL BY if:
  • The report needs details.
  • You want to group by different dimensions in different reports.
  • Performance is important.
• Use sub reports if:
  • The sub report design is used stand alone or from another report.
  • You want to reuse part of a report across other reports.
  • Data can change between calling one sub report and another.
• Use a business graph in your report design if:
  • You want to display a simple table or chart.
  • The data has only one or two dimensions.
• Use a pivot table in your report design if:
  • You want to display a simple table or chart.
  • The data has many dimensions.
• Use a report schema transformation if:
  • You want multiple reports, some using detailed data from the data source, and others using only simple data.
  • You want multiple reports that group and aggregate the detailed data in different ways.
  • The data source is a fixed third-party source, but you need to group and aggregate the data in a different way than is supplied by the source.
  • The data is needed more than once, but issuing two SQLs to retrieve it is not an option because the data cannot change between queries.
  • Performance lags are acceptable to gain greater flexibility.