Custom Data Processing Extensions/Custom Data Providers

Hello!

I'm trying to understand the limitations that SSRS places on a developing reports involving multiple data sources and how I can possibly create a custom data provider for a report that will consolidate data from multiple data sources..

thanks in advance.

Doug.

If you want to see what is all involved in creating a Custom Data Processing extension, I used the FSI example that comes with the SQL Server install. It gives you a good idea of what needs to be involved.

I extended and added to it a great deal but the basis for what you need to do is in there. It's non-trivial, but very do-able.

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I'll look into that!

THanks!!!!

doug

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Instead of implementing a data processing extension, you should look at the T-SQL OPENROWSET command

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190312.aspx

Or linking servers

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms188279.aspx

These give you the ability to consolidate multiple data sources and it is a lot easier than implementing your own data processing extension to do the same. The only caveat is that it requires SQL Server.

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We're using Oracle...so that kind of bites...

well, we've hit a snag in our development of our extension..

I cannot figure out why I get this exception when we try to generate a DataSet in our SSRS IDE:

A connection cannot be made to the database,
Set and test the connection string.
Additional Information:
The data extension FOCUS could not be loaded. Check the the configuration files RSReportDesigner.config(Microsoft.ReportingServices.Designer)

We added the following to the RSReportDesigner.config file:

<Extension Name="FOCUS" Type="PPD.Focus.FocusDPE.FocusDbConn, PPD.Focus.FocusDPE"/>

And the dll's complete with the proper namespaces are all in the proper directories:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.4\Reporting Services\ReportServer\bin\PPD.Focus.FocusDPE.dll
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\PrivateAssemblies\PPD.Focus.FocusDPE.dll

We've tried to step into the extension code using a techique outlined in MSDN without any luck. We've also attempted to write out errors the Event Viewer, but it doesn't even seem to get into the connection object,

Any Idea of where I'm going wrong?

thanks!

Doug