Extracts generated from Reports

The idea

• we should reduce the number of ways of calculating data in OpenPetra.
  • creating reports and creating extracts is quite similar. Find screens might also fall into this category.
  • advantage: saving the settings from the reports system allows us to have dynamic extracts as well, ie. to save the parameters that were used to create an extract.

• the reports system needs a refactoring
  • some functions used in report module are needed by other modules as well

• We could have extracts as an output method from reports (use the column with the partner keys to create an extract)
• We could have the option to create a report/extract not from xml file, but from a C# function
  • perhaps loading a file from csharp\ICT\Petra\Server\sql

Implementation

client side

• a normal yaml file for a report, with parameter tabs etc
  • perhaps a special button: generate extract, to avoid a report result screen to be displayed.
  • referencing either an .xml file for creating the report in xmlfiles, or the name of a dll and the static function to be called for calculating the data. Or using glue code?

server side

• new way of calculating a report: a C# function that does all the collecting of data
  • complex sql statements can be stored in an external SQL file to increase readability (see csharp\ICT\Petra\Server\sql)
  • returns a TResultList similar to what the calculation of xml files did return

Prototype

• see the changeset in https://code.launchpad.net/~tpokorra/openpetraorg/20111219_extractsFromReports