[Mono-list] Visual report designer, Message queue server...
Joe Mozelesky
jmozelesky@netcarrier.com
Sun, 30 Nov 2003 22:00:42 -0500
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Hello list,
So, it seems Mono/Gtk#/Gnome et. al. have progressed quite a bit in the
past year, and I have been examining once again the possibility of
developing an application for the Gnome platform. At one point in time
I wanted to be cross-platform, but now I'd really like to just focus on
something with good Gnome integration.
There are a few things I am trying to track down or determine if they
exist etc. as I conduct my little architecture "feasibility" study (err,
me, sitting at my laptop w/ Google and the list :-)).
The first thing I am trying to discover is a visual report designer,
something along the lines of Crystal Reports, maybe not as feature rich,
but usable by an end-user / non-programmer-hacker. The intent here is
that end user might want to go in and place their company logo on a
report, or move a field over to print in the right spot on their
pre-printed form. There is a commercial .NET component called Active
Reports that also looks kind of like what I am looking for, but of
course this is not of much use when releasing an app under GPL or
similar license. Someone had pointed me to a Gnome app called Agorra
reports, but it is not quite what I am looking for. It would also be
nice to have sub-reports capability. So, I'm not sure if something like
this exists, Google has not turned up much. Someone just made a patch
with libgda bindings for Gtk#, so the back-end is there, although I'm
not sure quite what the capabilities of libgda-report is at this point
but.it is the front-end I am wondering about.
What would be neat is to have a standard back-end reporting server, that
would let end user for instance request Income Statement report in
different formats for instance, PDF, HTML (web report), etc. with
different styles i.e. if Income Statement is viewed over web use style
A, if Income Statement is included in Annual Report in
desktop-publishing app then use style B, or for instance I want to view
Income Statement report in Gnumeric to play with numbers so output to
Gnumeric with no styles, just plain. Or for instance, say I am going on
flight across the country, but before I go I want to pull a 120-day aged
receivables report merged with customer contact information to my iPaq
in PDF format so I can chase up people for money on my cell phone, etc.
I am intrigued with Bonobo and components. It would be pretty neat to
be able to drop the report designer component onto my application window
as an embeddable component. And then to be able to cut-and-paste say a
section of cells from Gnumeric into a report, or an image, etc.
The second thing I am looking into is if there is some equivalent to
Microsoft Message Queue / IBM MQSeries / Sun ONE Message Queue Server
that is integrated into Gnome w/ C# bindings (Gnome Message Queue?)...
So basically, looking out on the long range, here is kind of the point
that I am looking at trying to get to now:
I want to have a complete low-mid range business management suite, i.e.
accounting, invoicing, CRM, with a plug-in architecture for vertical
market functionality. So Person A can say, ok I run a regional
landscaping company, and I have an office with a few people doing
administrative stuff, and a small sales staff. Instead of spending
$50,000 for software from Joe, Joe has this CDROM with Joe's Business
App for Landscaping all preconfigured with an operating system and
everything. Now, all I have to do is pay Joe for his time to come
install it for me. Or maybe I don't even have to pay Joe, I can just
put this CDROM in and go through the wizard and boom! I am running my
business on Linux and I have all of these cool features, it is easier to
use than PeachTree or Quickbooks, and my accountant loves me (ok, well
maybe that is too easy.) Or another good example, is Person B runs a
small HVAC/refrigeration company. He has 15 guys working for him who go
out on service calls, installation, etc., a business development person,
a salesperson, and a couple of administrative people at his office.
Instead of dropping tens of thousands for MS CRM w/ Service mgmt +
QuickBooks/PeachTree/MAS90 etc. + some HVAC custom add-on + . + etc.,
Instead he can pop in a CDROM and boom! He has business management plus
service management/scheduling for his worker guys, plus CRM for his
sales and biz development guy, plus then he puts the CD in on his server
and goes through the wizard and now he has a secure Linux-based remote
sales and scheduling capability via Apache + LDAP + Evolution + etc.
i.e. his guys can use their PalmPilot or iPaq to find their schedule
etc. But it will be scalable enough that Person C might own a
distribution company with sales offices in 20 states, 15 warehouses, a
fleet of trucks, and a staff of 1,000 and the app could be implemented
there as well.
So in order to build the above type of solution, I am looking to see if
the Reporting and message queue requirements could be solved
"off-the-shelf" now, or if I have to either just wait awhile or attempt
to write a visual designer from scratch (which I am dreading because Gtk
scares me :-) and I think some custom widgets would be needed which I'm
not sure could be done using C#) and just use a home grown message queue
server (not a big deal, really). The alternative option is just to say
screw it, if you have pre-printed forms then tough luck, and make all
the reports using XML output to HTML, and if you want to put your
company logo in there etc. then edit the stylesheet/template. In some
sense also maybe I am putting the cart before the horse in that I have a
lot of development time before it will be time to design reports.
Thanks,
Joe
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Hello list,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>So, it seems Mono/<span =
class=3DSpellE>Gtk</span>#/Gnome <span
class=3DGramE>et</span>. <span class=3DGramE>al</span>. have progressed =
quite a bit
in the past year, and I have been examining once again the possibility =
of
developing an application for the Gnome platform.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>At one point in time I wanted =
to be
cross-platform, but now I’d really like to just focus on something =
with
good Gnome integration.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>There are a few things I am trying to track down or
determine if they exist etc. as I conduct my little architecture =
“feasibility”
study (err, me, sitting at my laptop w/ <span =
class=3DSpellE>Google</span> and
the <span class=3DGramE>list </span></span></font><font size=3D2 =
face=3DWingdings><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Ari=
al;
mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symb=
ol;
mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'><span =
style=3D'mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:
Wingdings'>J</span></span></font><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>).<o:p></o:p></span></font><=
/p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The first thing I am trying to discover is a visual =
report
designer, something along the lines of Crystal Reports, maybe not as =
feature
rich, but usable by an end-user / non-programmer-hacker.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>The intent here is that end =
user might want
to go in and place their company logo on a report, or move a field over =
to
print in the right spot on their pre-printed form.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>There is a commercial .NET =
component
called Active Reports that also looks kind of like what I am looking =
for, but
of course this is not of much use when releasing an app under GPL or =
similar
license.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Someone had =
pointed me to
a Gnome app called <span class=3DSpellE>Agorra</span> reports, but it is =
not
quite what I am looking for.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> =
</span>It
would also be nice to have sub-reports capability.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>So, I’m not sure if =
something like
this exists, <span class=3DSpellE>Google</span> has not turned up =
much.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Someone just made a patch with =
<span
class=3DSpellE>libgda</span> bindings for <span =
class=3DSpellE>Gtk</span>#, so the
back-end is there, although I’m not sure quite what the =
capabilities of <span
class=3DSpellE>libgda</span>-report is at this point but…it is the
front-end I am wondering about.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>What would be neat is to have a standard back-end =
reporting
server, that would let end user for instance request Income Statement =
report in
different formats for instance, PDF, HTML (web report), etc. with =
different
styles i.e. if Income Statement is viewed over web use style A, if =
Income
Statement is included in Annual Report in desktop-publishing app then =
use style
B, or for instance I want to view Income Statement report in <span
class=3DSpellE>Gnumeric</span> to play with numbers so output to <span
class=3DSpellE>Gnumeric</span> with no styles, just plain.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Or for instance, say I am going =
on
flight across the country, but before I go I want to pull a 120-day aged =
receivables
report merged with customer contact information to my <span =
class=3DSpellE>iPaq</span>
in PDF format so I can chase up people for money on my cell phone, =
etc.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I am intrigued with <span =
class=3DSpellE>Bonobo</span> and
components.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>It would be =
pretty neat
to be able to drop the report designer component onto my application =
window as
an embeddable component.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> =
</span>And then
to be able to cut-and-paste say a section of cells from <span =
class=3DSpellE>Gnumeric</span>
into a report, or an image, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The second thing I am looking into is if there is =
some
equivalent to Microsoft Message Queue / IBM <span =
class=3DSpellE>MQSeries</span>
/ Sun ONE Message Queue Server that is integrated into Gnome w/ C# =
bindings (Gnome
Message Queue?)...<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>So basically, looking out on the long range, here is =
kind of
the point that I am looking at trying to get to now:<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I want to have a complete low-mid range business =
management
suite, i.e. accounting, invoicing, CRM, with a plug-in architecture for
vertical market functionality.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> =
</span>So
Person A can say, ok I run a regional landscaping company, and I have an =
office
with a few people doing administrative stuff, and a small sales =
staff.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Instead of spending $50,000 for =
software
from Joe, Joe has this CDROM with Joe’s Business App for <span
class=3DGramE>Landscaping</span> all preconfigured with an operating =
system and
everything.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Now, all I =
have to do
is pay Joe for his time to come install it for me.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Or maybe I don’t even =
have to pay <span
class=3DGramE>Joe,</span> I can just put this CDROM in and go through =
the wizard
and boom!<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>I am running my =
business
on Linux and I have all of these cool features, it is easier to use than =
<span
class=3DSpellE>PeachTree</span> or <span =
class=3DSpellE>Quickbooks</span>, and my
accountant loves me (ok, well maybe that is too easy…<span =
class=3DGramE>)<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Or</span> another good example, =
is
Person B runs a small HVAC/refrigeration company.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>He has 15 guys working for him =
who go
out on service calls, installation, etc., a business development person, =
a
salesperson, and a couple of administrative people at his office.<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Instead of dropping tens of =
thousands
for MS CRM w/ Service mgmt + QuickBooks/PeachTree/MAS90 etc. + some HVAC =
custom
add-on + … + etc., Instead he can pop in a CDROM and boom! He has
business management plus service management/scheduling for his worker =
guys,
plus CRM for his sales and biz development guy, plus then he puts the CD =
in on
his server and goes through the wizard and now he has a secure =
Linux-based remote
sales and scheduling capability via Apache + LDAP + Evolution + etc. =
i.e. his
guys can use their <span class=3DSpellE>PalmPilot</span> or <span =
class=3DSpellE>iPaq</span>
to find their schedule etc.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> =
</span>But it
will be scalable enough that Person C might own a distribution company =
with
sales offices in 20 states, 15 warehouses, a fleet of trucks, and a =
staff of
1,000 and the app could be implemented there as =
well.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>So in order to build the above type of solution, I am
looking to see if the Reporting and message queue requirements could be =
solved “off-the-shelf”
now, or if I have to either just wait awhile or attempt to write a =
visual
designer from scratch (which I am dreading because <span =
class=3DSpellE>Gtk</span>
scares me </span></font><font size=3D2 face=3DWingdings><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-hansi-font-f=
amily:
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-fam=
ily:
Wingdings'><span =
style=3D'mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings'>J</span><=
/span></font><font
size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> and I think
some custom widgets would be needed which I’m not sure could be =
done using
C#) and just use a home grown message queue server (not a big deal, =
really)…
The alternative option is just to say screw it, if you have pre-printed =
forms
then tough luck, and make all the reports using XML output to HTML, and =
if you
want to put your company logo in there etc. then edit the <span =
class=3DSpellE>stylesheet</span>/template…<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>In some sense also maybe I am =
putting
the cart before the horse in that I have a lot of development time =
before it
will be time to design reports…<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Joe<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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