Chapter 9. Scripting and Event Handling

We have come a long way since we started this book. We have seen all the different aspects of the BIRT Report Development environment. We have seen how to drag-and-drop reports with the Palette and the Report Designer, how to work with the outline and the navigator, and how to set properties or each of the report components.

We have seen how BIRT can link to data sources through JDBC drivers and how to build dataset through those connections. We have seen how to format reports using properties and styles.

Now we are going to look at the aspect of BIRT that makes it really powerful—scripting. Scripting is a complex topic, but once we understand it, we will be able to make BIRT do some really amazing things such as:

• Modifying data as it comes through

• Building data sources off of Java objects

• Building reports from the ground up

BIRT utilizes the Mozilla Rhino Engine to handle its scripting capabilities. What this means is that inside of BIRT reports, Report...