When we are creating reports with the help of SSRS (SQL Server
Reporting Services) using BIDS (Business Intelligence Development Studio), we
are dealing with predefined report formats. Sometimes it is required to create
certain reports on the urgent basis or by themselves. We do not have a set
format for these reports. These report formats are required to be created as
and when required by the client. For this reason, a very important feature has
been provided called ‘Report Builder’ in SSRS. With the help of Report Builder,
ad-hoc reports can be created. These reports are based on Report Models.
Business users who want to create reports on demand may not be
familiar with the physical data source schemas of the databases. Report Model
provides user friendly and easy to understand entities based on which report
creation becomes easy. These people may also not be familiar with the designer
for creating reports.
Report Model thus becomes a prerequisite of Report Builder, when
working with Report Builder 1.0. However with Report Builder 2.0, it is no more
a prerequisite, as we can create ad-hoc reports without Report Models created
previously. A report model contains metadata of data source and the
relationships within. This metadata is in the form of SMDL (Semantic Model
Definition Language). This is an XML based way of presenting model items.
Models can be created with Report Model Template provided by BIDS. Models can
also be created with Report Manager or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007,
but using BIDS provides maximum flexibility. You can base the model on Analysis
Services cube if required. If we change the cube later, we need to regenerate
the model. Report Model on Analysis Services cube cannot be created using
designer.
LABEL: SSRS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
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