Introduction to Java report chapters
Generalities
A report chapter can be written in Java.
It is highly recommended to write new reports in this language in order to benefit from the platform improvements and also to better handle PDF/RTF document generation. The old report platform will not be improved whereas the Java platform will be.
Compared to VB Script reports, Java reports are written differently as described in this article.
Both use the same metamodel described in the product documentation.
Data and view separation
VB Script report chapter macros generate HTML.
Java report chapter macros generate an object structure describing datasets (report data) and the type of view to apply to these datasets.
For more details on this structure, see the “Java Report Data Structure”. technical article.
Conversion from this object structure to a report output (HTML or PDF for example) is handled by the report engine using specific renderers. For more details on renderers see the “Writing Java report renderers” technical article.
This new architecture allows for better management of different output formats and more flexibility and modularity. It is therefore highly recommended to write new report chapter macros in Java, using the method described hereafter.