Create and deliver data-rich reports across the enterprise using this complete server-based reporting solution. Written by a member of the original Reporting Services development team, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services covers the entire report-building and distribution process, including data extraction, integration with desktop and Web applications, and end-user access. The book explains how to maximize all of the powerful features, including the new Tablix data format, as well as enhanced performance, scalability, and visualization capabilities.

• Install, configure, and customize SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

• Create SELECT queries to extract data

• Generate reports from the Report Wizard and from scratch

• Add charts, images, and gauges

• Build reusable report templates

• Use the new Tablix data format to create reports with any structure

• Export reports to Word, Excel, PDF, HTML, XML, and other formats

• Enable end-user access to reports via the Report Server and its Report Manager web interface

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 10 Ratings

A book that may have really saved my job. - 2009-06-11
Reviewer Rating:
What a life saver!

I'm a software developer in a small shop and our biggest client is a large law firm with LOTS of data and users hungry for easy to read reports reflecting said data. None of us have much experience with SQL Reporting Services as most of our experience for reporting is in Crystal Reports.

I've heard of SSRS but until recently I didn't have much experience using it. Our client was in great need of a simple report so I went ahead and setup a report server and decided to give SSRS a whirl. Thankfully Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) was easy for me to grasp as I am a C# developer and I was already in comfortable territory (BIDS is really just a reporting solution in Visual Studio afterall).

I was able to create their report in a very short time and the users were comfortable using the Report Manager Website. Of course what happened next is predictable to anyone that has been in a similar situation - I became "The Report Guy" - for better or worse.

Of course our client started demanding more and more reports - increasing in complexity. I only scratched the surface of what SSRS was capable of and during that time I thought a lot of their report specs may be impossible to realize using SSRS. I began to worry. They wanted graphs, complex groupings, drill down style reports... I needed someone to throw me a life raft. Thank you Brian for throwing me that raft!

This book saved me. Even though this book is rather big weighing in at over 860 pages (including index) it was a breeze to work through. Brian has a clean, easy to read writing style and he injects a bit of humor throughout. I thought this book was going to take forever to work through but because Brian is such a good Author it really became a page turner. This book is one of the easier books to absorb. This book starts very simple and increases in complexity. Parts of the book were so relevant to my business needs that it almost seemed like he was right there telling me how to write my reports!

If there was ever a book that may have really saved my job then this is it. I now don't mind being the "Report Guy" - I feel like I can tackle just about any report spec they throw at me - all thanks to Brian Larson.

If you need to learn about SSRS then I don't see how you can do much better then this book.

Waste of Time - Can't Install Galatic Database - 2009-07-07
Reviewer Rating:
I've been reading this book up to the point where I have to install the Galactic database provided by the publisher. Unfortunately, the backup file for the database will not restore to my localhost on my instance of SQL 2008 and Mr. Larson gives absolutely NO alternatives or options in his book. I've been scouring Google and not finding a solution so i'm to the point where this book is no longer useful to me.

Thanks for the waste of time, Larson.

I'd look elsewhere for a book with better assistance before dropping $$ on this time-waster.

Outstanding! Get up to speed fast and all examples work perfectly; no typos! - 2009-10-13
Reviewer Rating:
This book has been great for getting up to speed on SRSS (for creating reports) fast. I am an Oracle DBA on the unix platform so I bought a few books on SQL Server and SQL Server Reporting Services to familiarize myself with it. I have worked my way through this book and I have been able to apply the techniques to my "real life" projects. Thanks to the author and to his wife, whom he mentions in the "About the Author" section because she proofread the book and worked through every example to make sure all the detail was there and correct. I will look for other books by this author.

Good intro to reporting services - 2009-09-03
Reviewer Rating:
I have long experience with other competitive tools and I found this book to answer 90% of my questions about Reporting Services. After having worked half way through I felt very confident of being able to create useful reports.

The book is more verbose than needed - the first half of the book the step-by-step instructions include a common set of steps that need to be done for every report. The good news is you can (almost) jump to any example and be able to follow the steps. The bad news is you start to wonder if we could have killed a few fewer trees by putting a reference in rather than repeating the same thing endlessly.

Great Book - 2009-07-10
Reviewer Rating:
If you want to learn Reporting Services get this book. I've been reading tech books for 10 years and this is the best tech book I have ever purchased. Brian starts at the begining and teaches you step by step how to use Reporting Services. I have not been able to put this book down since I started reading it. It's easy to follow along with Brian and do the excercises and really learn how to use this technology.

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