Enabling end users to create their own PDF report layouts

With Oracle Application Express 3.0 we introduced advanced reporting printing using BI Publisher as the PDF rendering engine and using BI Publisher Desktop for designing sophisticated report layouts. In Oracle Application Express 3.1 we added the ability to create reports based on multiple queries. We also added a PL/SQL API that allows you to programmatically extend the built-in printing functionality. One interesting option this API offers is to dynamically link a report layout to a report query at runtime. Why is that interesting? Well, it can give your users more choices, e.g. they can pick which layout they prefer when printing reports. But more importantly, it allows your users to actually create their own report layouts, upload them into your own custom applications, and print the data in whichever format they like.

So what does that mean? How would this look like? Try out this application and see for yourself:

http://apex.oracle.com/pls/otn/f?p=49181:1 (username: demo, password: demo123)

The first page in this application shows a report, which can be filtered. And it can also be printed by clicking on "Print Report". When printing, you have a choice of which report layout you want to use. There are two report layouts pre-loaded, but you can also create your own, and upload them via manage report layouts. This takes you to a page where you can look at the report layouts already loaded, and upload you own ones. To create a report layout, you need to have BI Publisher Desktop installed (and MS Word), once that's installed, just download the XML data of your report on page 1, import this into MS Word, use the BI Publisher Desktop Word Plug-In to create your own custom layout, save as RTF and load it up into the application. Once the RTF layout is loaded, you'll find it in the select list on page 1 and can print out your report with your own personalized layout.

Want to try this at home? You can download the application, packaged up with the underlying DDL and including the two sample layouts here.

Where Parking Rules the Days, a Little Miracle

I stumbled upon this article in the New York Times today, and couldn't believe what I was reading. It's about my neighborhood, and the parking rules we have to obey here in New York. The article starts as follows:

"It is a routine so ingrained in the New Yorker's life that it seems to have always existed: And on the sixth day, God created man. And on the seventh day, while God rested, man had to go move his car because of alternate-side parking rules."

Well, looks like this summer, at least in my neighborhood, this will be suspended. And this will in fact be life-altering. I will have soo much spare time one my hands, I won't know what to do, I might even get to blog more often. So read on and enjoy:

Parking Rules the Days, a Little Miracle