Chapter 5. Adding a Relational Data Source

In this chapter, we will create a copy of the report created in the previous chapter and modify it so that it takes its data from a relational source. We will explain what JDBC is, what a JDBC driver is, and how it is used.

The topics we will be covering in the chapter include the following:

  • Downloading the JDBC driver for MySQL and copying it inside Pentaho Report Designer (PRD)
  • Using the UI to create/edit JDBC-type data sets and creating a JDBC connection to our sakila database, with its corresponding SQL query
  • Modifying the following sections: Report Header, Group Header, Details Header, and Details Footer; we will configure the last two to be repeated on each page
  • Deleting certain objects from the report, adding some new ones, and modifying others so that they all correspond to our new data source
  • Aggregation functions, explaining the most used ones; we will add a new function into our report and use its output in order to modify the style of a message
  • Understanding and modifying the charset of our report

As an extra, we will invite you to create your own report from the ground up, as well as give you a few tips to assist you in its creation.