Namaste! Thanks for that. I am in contact with them and am working on getting a working demo. I have to admit, that, at first blush, the licensing cost seems a bit steep - we're still considering it despite. It does look promising though.
Peace, Love, and Light, /s/ Jon C. Munson II -----Original Message----- From: Aaron Burghardt [mailto:abu...@mac.com] Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 5:34 PM To: jmun...@his.com; Cocoa Developers Subject: Re: Report writer for Cocoa? Did you search the archives? There is a package that is much closer to what you are asking for then the suggestions so far. I've mentioned it before, but happy to do so again: http://reportwell.com/main.php?siteName=DrawWellTech&lang=us&name=home The reporting engine is called ReportWell, and there is a user app, DrawWell, for designing reports. The user loads the data model, then drag entities and attributes onto the page. If you are using CoreData, they can import a model directly; if not, you can define your data model in an EOModeler-style text format. The user can define criteria for selecting and sorting records, etc. It's probably not as flexible as Crystal Reports, but it's a step in the direction. You can download a trial to try it out. They have data model support for AddressBook and iTunes, too, so you can experiment without building an app. FYI, I have no affiliation with the company. HTH, ---- Aaron Burghardt abu...@mac.com On Jan 16, 2009, at 9:09 AM, Jon C. Munson II wrote: > Thanks Gary! > > I've been a DB developer for many years, albeit on the PC side. > Report > writing was usually part of the tools, or, something easily found > elsewhere > in the PC world. Not so easily found on the Mac side though, hence my > original question. > > I know that writing reports is a total *****, so I'm looking for a > better > way - hopefully one that doesn't mean re-inventing the wheel. There > is both > a personal and developmental time interest involved in finding a > tool with > which I could work. Products can't sell if they aren't available > and any > unnecessary delay can be a deal killer! > > For Chris' benefit: a report writing tool is one that allows a > developer/end-user to construct reports using WYSIWYG controls (like > the IB > widgets), some sort of macro language (from simple sums/page counts, > to > extensive page formatting), and can either be called from within or > externally linked. This is a parallel to IB, though a wee bit more > advanced > yet specialized. Programs like FileMaker and Microsoft Access are two > examples of such things (though they are also capable of quite a bit > more). > Crystal Reports is also another example. If one isn't familiar with > them, > Googling them will yield relevant results. > > Those types of products are easy to find for the PC, but I started > running > into walls trying to find something similar for the Mac. > > I should think that if the Mac is to be better positioned in > "line-of-business" (as you state it), these tools should be/have > been more > readily available. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. > Doesn't mean > there isn't anything out there, just means they're harder to find or > highly > specialized. > > Thanks, guys, for all the answers so far - I appreciate it! > > Peace, Love, and Light, > > /s/ Jon C. Munson II > > P.S. Regarding an Access port to the Mac: my personal opinion is > that the > disk-based technology that FoxPro used which got bundled in MS > Access (after > MS purchased FoxPro) is the sole reason it isn't ported. I could be > quite > wrong on that note though since it really isn't all that important > to me > other than I wish Access were ported over. > > -----Original Message----- > From: cocoa-dev-bounces+jmunson=his....@lists.apple.com > [mailto:cocoa-dev-bounces+jmunson=his....@lists.apple.com] On Behalf > Of Gary > L. Wade > Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 2:03 AM > To: cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com > Subject: Re: Report writer for Cocoa? > > In defense of the original poster, I understood perfectly what he was > asking, and the responses he received showed others did, too. > Pretty much > everyone who has heard of FileMaker and Microsoft Office, two > extremely > well-known products each available on the Macintosh for well over a > decade, > as well as heard of them in the same sentence, has most likely heard > comparisons between Access and FileMaker (as well as heard comments > about > why Microsoft hasn't ported Access to the Mac), and can probably > surmise > they operate similarly. > > In case you're still not informed about what a report writer tool > is, it's > typically a subsystem of a software product or a standalone product > that > allows an end-user to develop reports to be used in an application. > Comments by others on the forum have given suggestions that an end- > user > might just as effectively develop an HTML template (a technology > many people > on the list understand and may even have used) that the original > poster > could utilize to produce such a report, while others have suggested > utilizing Interface Builder to design one (a technology that people > on the > list typically get maligned if they don't use). > > If you are still confused about what a report writer is, try > Google. And, > getting back to Microsoft Office, keep in mind that a number of its > components, which are line-of-business applications, originated on the > Macintosh. > > On 01/15/2009 6:50 PM, "Chris Hanson" <c...@me.com> wrote: > >> On Jan 14, 2009, at 12:01 PM, Jon C. Munson II wrote: >> >>> I could be missing the obvious, however, my question is whether a >>> report >>> writer tool (like Crystal Reports or MS Access, by way of example) >>> exists >>> for Cocoa? >> >> In the future, it might make it easier to get help if you explain >> more >> specifically what you're looking for. >> >> Developers who have been working on the Mac platform exclusively for >> quite a while may have no idea how Crystal Reports or MS Access work. >> The Mac world has also historically been much less focused on Line- >> of- >> Business applications than the Windows world, so what "report writer >> tools" do for the software developer may not be readily apparent to >> many experienced Mac developers who might otherwise have suggestions. >> >> -- Chris >> > > > _______________________________________________ > > Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) > > Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. > Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com > > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/jmunson%40his.com > > This email sent to jmun...@his.com > > _______________________________________________ > > Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) > > Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. > Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com > > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/ajb.lists%40mac.com > > This email sent to ajb.li...@mac.com _______________________________________________ Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. 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