Chapter 10. Developing Reports Using BI Publisher

Oracle BI has fully integrated a common Oracle reporting technology that is almost ubiquitously embedded in Oracle Applications-BI Publisher (BIP). Once known as XML Publisher (XMLP), BI Publisher has been associated with analytics, reporting, and business intelligence under the ranks of Oracle for a long time.

BI Publisher has the ability to connect to many disparate data sources, which makes it a very powerful tool within any organization's enterprise business intelligence toolbox. But the real power comes in two main forms--the ability to manipulate each report at a very granular level by modifying XML and the ability to print crisp, pixel-perfect reports, referred to as highly formatted documents.

Pixel-perfect reporting entails that Oracle BI Publisher has the ability to allow a report template to be developed in one of the BI Publisher's several template development outlets such as Microsoft Word (Template Builder...