README

Path: README
Last Update: Thu Apr 18 08:27:53 +0000 2013

Contents:

 + What Ruport Is
 + Installation
 + Resources
 + Hacking

What Ruport Is

Ruby Reports (Ruport) is an extensible reporting system.

It aims to be as lightweight as possible while still providing core support for data aggregation and manipulation as well as multi-format rendering of reports.

Ruport provides tools for using a number of data sources, including CSV files, ActiveRecord models, and raw SQL connections via RubyDBI.

Data manipulation is easy as there are standard structures that support record, table, and grouping operations. These all can be extended to implement custom behavior as needed.

For common tasks, Ruport provides formatters for CSV, HTML, PDF, and text- based reports. However, the real power lies in building custom renderers and formatters. The base formatting libraries provide a number of helper functions that will let you build complex reports while maintaining a DRY and consistent interface.

To get a quick feel for what you can accomplish with Ruport, take a look at a few simple examples provided on our web site.

rubyreports.org/examples.html

Since Ruport‘s core support is intentionally minimalistic, you may be looking for some higher level support for specific needs such as graphing, invoices, report mailing support, etc. For this, you may wish to take a look at the ruport-util package, which contains some generally useful tools and libraries to extend Ruport‘s capabilities.

Installation

To install ruport via rubygems with all it‘s dependencies (except DBI):

  sudo gem install ruport -y

Check to see if it installed properly:

  ruby -rubygems -e "require 'ruport'; puts Ruport::VERSION"

If you get an error, please consult the mailing list.

Dependencies Details:

 -- formatting

Ruport relies on PDF::Writer and FasterCSV for its formatting support. If you want to make use of textile helpers, you‘ll also need RedCloth.

 -- database interaction

If you wish to use Ruport to report against a rails project, a camping project, or do standalone acts_as_reportable reports, you‘ll need ActiveRecord.

If you want to use Ruport::Query for raw SQL support, you‘ll need to install RubyDBI and whatever database drivers you might need.

Resources

The best way to get help and make suggestions is the Ruport mailing list. This software is on the move, so the list is the most reliable way of getting up to date information.

 -  You can sign up and/or view the archives here:
    http://groups.google.com/group/ruby-reports

 -  The latest stable API documentation is available at:
    http://api.rubyreports.org

 -  Our Trac is at: http://code.rubyreports.org/ruport
    You may use the username ruport and password blinky to file tickets.

Hacking

If you‘d like to work on Ruport, please post on the list and let us know what you‘re interested in doing, or contact Gregory Brown or Michael Milner if you have questions.

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