Chapter 5. Working with Data
The last few chapters have focused on the BIRT working environment and the visual elements used to develop reports, without the data element. This chapter will bridge that gap and focus on the data-specific elements of the BIRT environment, build some example reports using data from the example Classic Models Inc. database, and work with a separate MySQL database.
BIRT data capabilities
As BIRT is a Java-centric reporting environment built on top of Eclipse, many different data tools provide BIRT with its data capabilities. Building on the Eclipse ODA data platform, BIRT can provide data from a wide array of different sources. JDBC can be used to provide connections to many of the popular Relational Database Management Systems out in the market such as Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. Using plain old Java objects, web services, and persistent data objects are just some of the sources that BIRT can connect to.
In addition to the classic client...
