Search icon CANCEL
Subscription
0
Cart icon
Your Cart (0 item)
Close icon
You have no products in your basket yet
Save more on your purchases now! discount-offer-chevron-icon
Savings automatically calculated. No voucher code required.
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Conferences
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
BIRT 2.6 Data Analysis and Reporting
BIRT 2.6 Data Analysis and Reporting

BIRT 2.6 Data Analysis and Reporting: Create, Design, Format, and Deploy Reports with the world's most popular Eclipse-based Business Intelligence and Reporting Tool

eBook
€19.99 €28.99
Paperback
€37.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at €18.99p/m

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
OR
Modal Close icon
Payment Processing...
tick Completed

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Shipping Methods
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

BIRT 2.6 Data Analysis and Reporting

Chapter 2. Installing BIRT

I'm sure that after discussing the features of BIRT, you're excited to jump right in. Well, you're in luck, as I am equally excited to show how these features will help you. BIRT is a powerful application to meet one's reporting needs, but the first step is to get BIRT and install it. This can be a bit daunting, as BIRT comes in so many different flavors.

In this chapter, we will discuss the various methods of downloading BIRT and installing it. Specifically, we will cover the following:

  • Installing the standalone BIRT report designer

  • Installing the BIRT Eclipse Plugin through the Eclipse update manager

  • Installing the BIRT Eclipse Plugin Manually

  • Building BIRT from source

BIRT prerequisites

BIRT has a fairly small set of requirements to run, depending on one's needs.

Software requirements

There are no specific operating system requirements to run BIRT as it is a Java application and it should run on any platform that Java will run on. For the BIRT Report Designer, any platform...

BIRT prerequisites


BIRT has a fairly small set of requirements to run, depending on one's needs.

Software requirements

There are no specific operating system requirements to run BIRT as it is a Java application and it should run on any platform that Java will run on. For the BIRT Report Designer, any platform that runs Eclipse will work. I have successfully run and developed reports under Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX.

Note

A fair word of warning to the Mac folks: In the past I have run into some performance issues running BIRT under OSX. It has been a few years and this may not be the case anymore, but I would like to put this forth as a cautionary note. If performance of BIRT is poor under OSX, it might be advisable to try to run this tool under a Linux or Windows setup using Parallels or VMWare.

Hardware requirements

As far as hardware requirements, I would recommend at least a Pentium 3 processor with minimum of 512 MB of RAM for the BIRT Report Designer to function without problems. The...

Where do I get BIRT?


Our first task should be to download BIRT. The typical location for everything BIRT related is the Eclipse website. Browsing to http://www.eclipse.org/birt will take us to the BIRT homepage. Here, we can get the latest news about BIRT, including status of upcoming releases, news on books, conferences, and access to the BIRT newsgroups where we can ask questions about BIRT. The newsgroups are an excellent resource for BIRT questions as they are frequented by the BIRT developers and BIRT Project Management Committee members. The following is a screenshot of the current BIRT project homepage:

The homepage is also where one can get the various BIRT distributions such as the All-In-One Eclipse package. This distribution contains a prepackaged version of Eclipse, which is configured with BIRT, the BIRT Standalone Report Designer, and contains information about retrieving and building BIRT from source.

At the time of this writing, 2.6 is the latest BIRT release, which is what...

Installing BIRT from the All-In-One package


The BIRT All-in-One package is the easiest BIRT package to install, so it will be the first one we will go for. The BIRT All-in-One package is a BIRT distribution that contains a full Eclipse installation preconfigured with BIRT. I usually use this as the base installation for Eclipse and add plugins accordingly. BIRT can have some tricky issues with configuration that I have come across in the past, and since then, I avoid these by installing the All-in-One package.

As with most BIRT installations, the All-in-One package is available from the Download BIRT link. This will typically take us to the current, stable release of BIRT. The developers seem to agree that the All-in-One package is the typical way to go as it is the first link on the page. The following is a screenshot of what the BIRT download page looks like:

Additionally, older and pre-released versions of BIRT are available from the "More Downloads" section of the BIRT's download page...

Installing BIRT All-in-One under Linux


On Linux, installation is similar. The archive file containing the All-in-One package is a standard Linux tarball file. One recommendation for the Linux installers is to use Sun's Java instead of the GNU Java. The GNU Java is compliant to an older specification of Java than BIRT requires, and some features will not work correctly under Linux. Installing Sun Java under Linux can vary based on the distribution of Linux one uses and the distributor's views of the Sun license for Java. I have chronicled my experiences getting Sun Java to work under Ubuntu Linux (a free desktop-based distribution of Linux based on Debian) as well as CentOS (a free alternative to Red Hats Enterprise Linux) on my blog.

Note

OpenJDK contains a version of js.jar that needs to be replaced with BIRT's version in order for BIRT to work correctly.

Also, based on the version of BIRT we run, we will need one of two different Java versions. For BIRT versions prior to 2.2, we will need...

Installation of BIRT through the Eclipse Plugin update program


This section covers the installation of BIRT using the Eclipse plugin manager. Suppose we already have an Eclipse instance that we use regularly. Because Eclipse can typically be a rather large package, installing a separate instance may not be feasible due to disk space constraints, I.T. policy, or some other limiting factor. In cases such as these, it is more appropriate to add to our existing Eclipse installation.

If one takes it upon himself/herself to install BIRT as a set of plugins, he/she must also install all the prerequisite plugins that the BIRT designer is built on top of. This is part of what makes the All-in-One installation method preferable to the manual installation of plugins. Another reason is that this is the avenue in which I have traditionally encountered the most installation problems such as dependency issues.

In order to proceed, we must first make sure the following dependency packages are installed with...

Building BIRT from source


There are instances when it is desirable to build BIRT from its source distribution—if we are modifying BIRT, investigating a bug, or want to enhance the core of BIRT in some way. These are rare cases, but it is good to know how to build BIRT from source just in case. The following will walk you through building BIRT 2.5.2, but will work for 2.6 as well.

The first step is to retrieve the BIRT source code. The BIRT source is available from the BIRT Eclipse hompage. For 2.5.2, this is under http://download.eclipse.org/birt/downloads/build.php?build=R-R1-2_5_2-201002221500. The source package is located under the section labeled BIRT Source Code. Note the instructions saying there might be other libraries to install. We will probably need to download the Eclipse Data Tools project source code as well. We retrieve the ZIP file, but do not extract it. One will need a working copy of Eclipse in order to proceed. Here, we will be using an already extracted version of BIRT...

Summary


In this chapter, we looked at a number of different installation methods, including:

  • The All-in-One package

  • Installing through the Eclipse Software Update

We have seen where to get BIRT, how to install it, and a list of the requirements needed to run BIRT. Now, before getting into the heart of BIRT report design, we should first get acquainted with the BIRT development environment.

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon

Key benefits

  • Design, manage, format, and deploy high-quality reports
  • Crosstab reports using the new BIRT cube designer
  • Transform raw data into visual and interactive reports
  • Includes a case study (Building Reports for Bugzilla) at the end along with a real-world example that runs throughout the book

Description

BIRT is an Eclipse-based open source reporting system for web applications based on Java and Java EE. To address a wide range of reporting needs within a typical application, ranging from operational or enterprise reporting to multi-dimensional online analytical processing (OLAP), you need to know BIRT from head to toe. If you wish to start making reports easily and quickly, and also want to be up-to-date with the latest developments in BIRT, then this book is for you. It will guide you from scratch to develop reports using the Eclipse BIRT project. You will learn how to connect to data, use report items to display and format data, and use scripting to build advanced reports and charts.The book steers you through each step of report setup, to creating, designing, formatting, and deploying reports with data from a wide range of data sources. Its focus is on familiarizing you with the most visible and familiar product built with the BIRT framework – the BIRT Report Designer. It starts by introducing the concepts of business intelligence and open source software, and different installation methods. It will introduce you to the various visual report elements that can be used to design BIRT reports, such as the Palette and Grid components. You will learn the details of the data components of BIRT (the Data Source and the Data Set), different types of source data that BIRT supports such as XML files, flat text files, and databases, and the creation of all of the elements while connecting to Data Sources in reports and Report Projects. By the end of the book, you will be able to enhance the presentation of your report using Charts, Hyperlinks, and Drill Through. You will also be able to take advantage of the scripting capabilities that BIRT has to offer with Expressions and Event Handlers and successfully deploy BIRT reports.The book includes a case study at the end along with a real-world example that runs throughout the book.

Who is this book for?

If you are a Java developer and want to create rich reports using BIRT, then this book is for you. You will need a basic understanding of SQL to follow along.

What you will learn

  • Install and set up a BIRT environment
  • Create structured reports and add visual report elements
  • Work with data from JDBC, XML, flat files, and web services
  • Filter down data to just the information you need
  • Create cross-tab reports using the new BIRT cube designer
  • Create a shared development environment using libraries
  • Use style sheets and themes in report designs
  • Use and create Templates for rapid development of similar reports
  • Everything you need to work with BIRT s chart engine
  • Learn to script in BIRT to add business logic, manipulate report elements, and handle events
  • Deploy BIRT reports with the BIRT Viewer and Report Engine API
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Italy

Premium delivery 7 - 10 business days

€17.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Jul 15, 2010
Length: 360 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849511667
Vendor :
Eclipse Foundation
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
OR
Modal Close icon
Payment Processing...
tick Completed

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Shipping Methods
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Italy

Premium delivery 7 - 10 business days

€17.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Publication date : Jul 15, 2010
Length: 360 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849511667
Vendor :
Eclipse Foundation
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
€18.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
€189.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just €5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
€264.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just €5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total 113.97
Getting Started with Talend Open Studio for Data Integration
€37.99
BIRT 2.6 Data Analysis and Reporting
€37.99
Pentaho Data Integration 4 Cookbook
€37.99
Total 113.97 Stars icon

Table of Contents

10 Chapters
Getting Started Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Installing BIRT Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The BIRT Environment and First Report Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Visual Report Items Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Working with Data Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Report Parameters Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Report Projects and Libraries Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Charts, Hyperlinks, and Drilldowns Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Scripting and Event Handling Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Deployment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is the delivery time and cost of print book? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela
What is custom duty/charge? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customs duty are charges levied on goods when they cross international borders. It is a tax that is imposed on imported goods. These duties are charged by special authorities and bodies created by local governments and are meant to protect local industries, economies, and businesses.

Do I have to pay customs charges for the print book order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The orders shipped to the countries that are listed under EU27 will not bear custom charges. They are paid by Packt as part of the order.

List of EU27 countries: www.gov.uk/eu-eea:

A custom duty or localized taxes may be applicable on the shipment and would be charged by the recipient country outside of the EU27 which should be paid by the customer and these duties are not included in the shipping charges been charged on the order.

How do I know my custom duty charges? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The amount of duty payable varies greatly depending on the imported goods, the country of origin and several other factors like the total invoice amount or dimensions like weight, and other such criteria applicable in your country.

For example:

  • If you live in Mexico, and the declared value of your ordered items is over $ 50, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 19% which will be $ 9.50 to the courier service.
  • Whereas if you live in Turkey, and the declared value of your ordered items is over € 22, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 18% which will be € 3.96 to the courier service.
How can I cancel my order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Cancellation Policy for Published Printed Books:

You can cancel any order within 1 hour of placing the order. Simply contact customercare@packt.com with your order details or payment transaction id. If your order has already started the shipment process, we will do our best to stop it. However, if it is already on the way to you then when you receive it, you can contact us at customercare@packt.com using the returns and refund process.

Please understand that Packt Publishing cannot provide refunds or cancel any order except for the cases described in our Return Policy (i.e. Packt Publishing agrees to replace your printed book because it arrives damaged or material defect in book), Packt Publishing will not accept returns.

What is your returns and refunds policy? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Return Policy:

We want you to be happy with your purchase from Packtpub.com. We will not hassle you with returning print books to us. If the print book you receive from us is incorrect, damaged, doesn't work or is unacceptably late, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com with the order number and issue details as explained below:

  1. If you ordered (eBook, Video or Print Book) incorrectly or accidentally, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com within one hour of placing the order and we will replace/refund you the item cost.
  2. Sadly, if your eBook or Video file is faulty or a fault occurs during the eBook or Video being made available to you, i.e. during download then you should contact Customer Relations Team within 14 days of purchase on customercare@packt.com who will be able to resolve this issue for you.
  3. You will have a choice of replacement or refund of the problem items.(damaged, defective or incorrect)
  4. Once Customer Care Team confirms that you will be refunded, you should receive the refund within 10 to 12 working days.
  5. If you are only requesting a refund of one book from a multiple order, then we will refund you the appropriate single item.
  6. Where the items were shipped under a free shipping offer, there will be no shipping costs to refund.

On the off chance your printed book arrives damaged, with book material defect, contact our Customer Relation Team on customercare@packt.com within 14 days of receipt of the book with appropriate evidence of damage and we will work with you to secure a replacement copy, if necessary. Please note that each printed book you order from us is individually made by Packt's professional book-printing partner which is on a print-on-demand basis.

What tax is charged? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Currently, no tax is charged on the purchase of any print book (subject to change based on the laws and regulations). A localized VAT fee is charged only to our European and UK customers on eBooks, Video and subscriptions that they buy. GST is charged to Indian customers for eBooks and video purchases.

What payment methods can I use? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

You can pay with the following card types:

  1. Visa Debit
  2. Visa Credit
  3. MasterCard
  4. PayPal
What is the delivery time and cost of print books? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela