Presents your 
SQL SERVER E-NEWSLETTER for February 24, 2004

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Launch of SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services

Oracle and DB2 have been way ahead of Microsoft in the area of 
reporting services--until now. Microsoft previously offered only Access 
(bundled with Office Professional) and Crystal Reports (bundled with 
Visual Studio).
 
Microsoft remedies this shortcoming with its new SQL Server 2000 
Reporting Services. Since the download is approximately 138 megabytes, 
you'll need a fast connection. If you don't have one, you can order a 
CD that contains the Reporting Services' installation files. (This 
option is featured on the same page as the download.) 
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/reporting/default.asp 
 
Reporting Services is licensed as a part of SQL Server 2000 and up. If 
you already have a license for SQL Server, then the download is free. 
If you want to place it on a server that isn't licensed for SQL Server 
2000, then you need to purchase a license for that server. 
 
Reporting Services includes a report designer whose installation 
depends upon the presence of Visual Studio 2003. If this software isn't 
installed, you can continue the installation without the report 
designer, but you won't get the spiffy drag-and-drop development 
environment. 
 
In terms of data sources, Reporting Services supports SQL Server and 
Oracle, as well as any OLE DB data source. The Report Server can 
schedule reports to run automatically and e-mail them. 
 
I haven't been using Reporting Services long enough to comment on its 
stability, but I can say that the .NET designer is a very nice piece of 
work. As I learn more about Reporting Services, I'll write future 
e-newsletters about this important new SQL Server component. 
 
Arthur Fuller has been developing database applications for 20 years. 
His experience includes Access ADPs, Microsoft SQL 2000, MySQL, and 
.NET. 

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