What Is ?

In , you can do the following:

Access data and descriptions. Using the Metadata canvas, you can create new synonyms, and view or modify existing synonyms, in a graphical user interface. Synonyms enable you to access and interpret data sources for use in reporting applications. Capabilities include metadata design and development, with full visual modeling of schemas.

Create reporting applications. Build reporting procedures in the Report Canvas, Chart Canvas, HTML Canvas, or Document Canvas, which can include the following components.

• Reports. Display your data in a tabular format. You can create stand-alone reporting procedures, or add the report to a document or an HTML page.
• Charts. Communicate your data in a more illustrative format. You can translate complex data into an easy-to-read and understandable visual format. This often provides a new perspective to the information that users view. You can create stand-alone charting procedures or add the chart to a document or an HTML page.
• HTML pages. Build webpages for users to launch, view, and analyze data. You can add multiple reports and charting procedures to an HTML page, in addition to the controls that enable you to manipulate the data. You can also apply styling through the use of cascading style sheets (CSS), JavaScript files, and jQuery animations.
• Documents. Combine multiple report and charting procedures in a single output that you can organize and format. You can also add pre-process and post-process codes to customize how your document is executed.
• Visualizations. Create charts, maps, and grids to visually represent your data. You can add multiple visuals to the canvas to create a complete visualization, and you can update, change, or revise the visualization at any time to account for shifts in data needs.
• Alerts. Create event-driven procedures that apply test conditions and then trigger customized reports if the test conditions are true. You can schedule an Alert using ReportCaster Distribution Methods.
• Reporting Objects. Transform complex views of data into simple objects that are labeled with common business terminology for users to understand and use as templates to create their own reports.

Customize reporting applications. In addition to customizing your reporting applications by applying styling and color, you can add the following components to a procedure.

• Virtual fields (DEFINE or COMPUTE statements). Create temporary fields that are treated as real fields stored in the data source.
• Define functions. Create user functions that you can use in components of a procedure. You can retrieve your stored functions from the Functions Arguments dialog box.
• Joins. Define relationships between two or more data sources so that a report can use the data from all sources at once. You can also merge data sources by creating logical expressions on the Match canvas.

Manage your environment. You can apply the following functions to your reporting applications to change the behavior of your environment.

• Set. Control the way that reports and charts appear on the screen or printer, the content of reports and charts, data retrieval characteristics that affect performance, and system responses to user requests. The Set component also helps you to set up your metadata and manipulate information, such as dates. Use the Set component to override default settings for your procedure.
• Allocation. Assign logical names and storage locations to the files that you create and use in WebFOCUS.
• Use. Identify a FOCUS data source to use in your procedure.

This topic briefly explains the main components and implementations. For a complete description of , see the documentation.

This topic briefly explains the main components and implementations.

WebFOCUS App Studio includes the following components:

• Graphical User Interface (GUI). Graphical development and code generation features for application development.
• WebFOCUS Reporting Server. A basic Reporting Server for local processing, stand-alone development, access to data, report generation, chart generation, and running requests.
• WebFOCUS Client. A scaled-down WebFOCUS Client with available functionality that is based on the App Studio edition you license.
• Derby database. An embedded database that stores user accounts and policies required for the connection of App Studio to its local WebFOCUS Client. Derby is only installed in App Studio editions that are licensed for local/stand-alone development. It is used for authentication, and comes with preloaded user IDs that possess developer and administration permissions.

  Note: If you install App Studio on the same machine as WebFOCUS 8, you can configure App Studio to utilize the WebFOCUS 8 Derby database.

The following figure illustrates how and process requests. Each step is explained below the figure.

1. A user makes a request and passes parameters by calling a Servlet through links and forms on a webpage, or through .
2. The request and parameters come to the Client on the web or application server, which processes the parameters and creates a request for the Reporting Server.
3. The Reporting Server receives the request, processes it, and accesses any necessary data.
4. Data is retrieved from data sources to process the request.
5. The Reporting Server processes the user request using the retrieved data.
6. The response is returned to the Client on the web or application server.
7. The response is returned to the user.

App Studio processes requests the same way that WebFOCUS does:

• To access WebFOCUS or a remote Reporting Server, App Studio calls a servlet on a remote web or application server.
• To process requests using the local WebFOCUS Client and Reporting Server installed with App Studio, App Studio calls the local Reporting Server through a local web or application server using a servlet. Therefore, to run reports locally, your machine requires a web server.

App Studio allows local (stand-alone) development and development against a remote environment. From the Environments Tree panel, you can develop applications locally on your machine, or against a remote WebFOCUS environment.

In App Studio, you build applications consisting of different kinds of files. You can create the application as a stand-alone application in a development environment or as a web-based self-service application.

With a full App Studio installation, you can do the following:

• Locally develop self-service applications from the Projects area (optional).

  Stand-alone Project-based development requires installation of a Reporting Server on the same machine as App Studio. A WebFOCUS Client is also required for Project-based development. The files that you create for a local project reside in a subdirectory under APPROOT as described earlier. In Project-based development, the Application Root directories (APPROOT directories) must point to the same directory.

• Connect to one or more remote servers and modify existing self-service applications on those servers. For example, you can add a reporting procedure to an existing application.
• Configure access to one or more WebFOCUS environments so you can manage resources on the WebFOCUS Client and Reporting Server, and in the domain (if Managed Reporting is installed). For example, you can create and edit procedures, metadata, HTML files, and more.

Note: If you do not have a Reporting Server and WebFOCUS Client on your development machine (for example, the Managed Reporting Application edition of App Studio), your environment allows the last two capabilities.