Quick Start: Generate a PHP report application

Use the Business Application Modeler to generate a PHP report library, where the library feeds the report data from a database using SQL.

1. Create a new PHP project.
   1. Select File > New > PHP > BAM PHP Project (.4pw).
   2. Enter a name for your project in the Project name field.
      This name will become the name of the project workspace file.
   3. Specify the project directory in the Location field.
   4. Click OK.
      The project is created and saved in the selected project directory.

   
   
   

   The project is created, to include nodes for database-related files, the data source library files, and the report designs. A ReportLauncher application is created as well, allowing you to test your data source library from within the Genero Studio project.

2. Add your database meta-schema (.4db) file under the Database node in the project tree, and save your changes.
   If you need to create the database schema (.4db) file, see Create the database meta-schema file.
   1. Right-click on the Database node and select Add Files.
   2. Select the meta-schema (.4db) file and click Open.

   
   
   

3. Configure the database meta-schema.
   In most cases, the database meta-schema will have been created with the tables set to Active and the primary keys defined.
   1. Open the .4db file.
   2. Set the table property for each table you will include to Active.
      Tip: To easily set multiple tables as active, hold down the CTRL key as you select the tables in the Database Structure view, then check the Active property.
   3. Define a primary key for each table. See Add constraints or indexes.
   4. Save the changes to your data schema.
4. Create the data source (.4rdj) file.
   For this quick start, you will select a single table. Most reporting, however, will involve multiple tables and their relation. See Create a report with BAM for details on creating more complex data sources.
   1. Select File > New > PHP > Report Data from Database(.4rdj), and click OK.
   2. In the Column selection page, select columns from a single table to include in the record.
      The record defines the data that will stream, one record at a time, to the report engine.
      Click Next > to continue.
   3. In the Query Creation page, one typically sets the Join, Where and Order by criteria for the data source. As only a single table was selected, this page can be skipped.
   4. Click Finish.
      A record is created and displayed in a .4rdj tab.
   5. Select File >> Save as and save the .4rdj file, adding the file to the DataSourceLib library node.
      Important: Check the directory before saving your file! It is recommended that you save the file in $(ProjectDir)/src.
      Selecting the right name in this step is important; the name of the .4rdj file becomes the name of the PHP source, which ultimately becomes the name of the PHP class.
   6. Save the changes to your project.

   
   
   

5. Generate the code and the data schema.
   1. Right-click the DataSourceLib library node and select Build.
      The DataSourceLib library node is the node containing the data source (.4rdj) file.
      The report library source and the data schema (.xsd) files are created and listed in the Intermediate Files folder. The location of these intermediate files is determined by the setting of the Target directory property.
6. Create a report design from a template.
   For this quick start, we are going to use a template to create a simple, non-grouped list report. For more information on using report templates, see Create and manage report templates.
   1. Select File >> New, Report from Template.
   2. Select Simple List (PULSE). Click OK.
   3. In the Schema location field, select the schema created in the previous step.
      The rows field populates for you with the record name. Complete the Repetitions section, mapping the template repetitions to the schema repetitions. Click Next >.
   4. Add several fields from the Available Fields column to the Selected Fields column. Click Next >.
   5. On the Variables page, modify the title placeholder to state "My Report". Click Finish.
      The report is created.
   6. Select File >> Save untitled.4rp as... and save the file in the $ProjectDir/src directory, and in the Designs node.

   
   
   

7. Run the Report Launcher application.
   1. Select Tools > Genero Tools > Genero Workplace Window. At the prompt, enter "greportwriter -l 7000.
   2. In the Projects view, select the ReportLauncher application node.
   3. Update the Command line arguments to provide the report details to the application.
      The default command line arguments are:

      -lib "$(ProjectDir)/src/MyReportFilePath.php"
      -class "MyReportClass"
      -design "$(ProjectDir)/src/MyReportDesign.4rp"

      Replace "$(ProjectDir)/src/MyReportFilePath.php" with the path and name for the .php file listed in the Intermediate Files node. Use an absolute or relative path.

      Replace "MyReportClass" with the name of the data source class. This name will be the same as the name of your .php file, without the extension.

      Replace "$(ProjectDir)/src/MyReportDesign.4rp" with the path and name of your report.

   4. Right-click the Report Launcher node and select Execute.
   The report generates, and is written to a PDF file on disk. See the Output view for the full path to the report file.