Overview of SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 Architecture, Features, and Tools - Learning SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 - page 144

The ODBC drivers available to you on the computer can be obtained from the
Drivers' tabbed page of the ODBC Data Source Administrator in the Control
Panel. If a certain driver is not available you may need to install from its source.
After getting connected to the data source you need to run queries to define datasets,
the data that gets into your report. Both SSDT and Report Builder provide graphic
as well as text-based interfaces to run queries against the data. The dataset contains
fields that are the selected columns of the data. These fields in the dataset are then
bound to the table, matrix, chart, map, and so on in the Report Designer canvas.
Both data sources and datasets can be embedded (specific to the report) or shared.
In case of shared, the data source or dataset can be bound to other reports as well.
Report data may be filtered in the query or attached to reports. Parameters are
part of the query that fetch data for the reports and can be used for parameterized
reports. When the reporting services is installed in SharePoint Integrated mode, Data
Alerts, new in SQL Server 2012, help you to receive a message from the server to the
effect that some data on the report you were interested in got changed. It is an alert
based on change of data, when the change meets certain preestablished rules. The
notification comes in the form of an e-mail using a local or remote SMTP Server.
Grouping and aggregating of data can be carried out in the query as well as in the
report. Similarly, sorting of data can be carried out in a query or in a report. You
can embellish sorting to be interactive by installing a button that sorts the data.
Use of expressions helps in controlling data and reports as it can use data fields,
logical, mathematical expressions, and report parameters. This tool is similar
to what users of Microsoft Access have been using for a long time.
Subreports display data from multiple datasets and expressions can be used with
one set of data referencing another set of data.
Power View reports, new in SQL Server 2012, are authored making use of data
extracted from Analysis Services Tabular models (this requires you to install
Analysis Services installed to support Tabular Model). Power View also requires
installing SQL Server Reporting Services in SharePoint Integrated mode.
Although there are so many details involved in authoring reports, Chapter 5 , Working
with Report Builder 3.0 , provides step-by-step guidance in authoring reports using
Report Builder. In Chapter 4 , Working with Report Manager , all aspects of Report
Management are detailed. In Chapter 6 , Power View and Reporting Services , step-by-
step guidance is provided for authoring Power View reports. Chapter 7 , Self-Service
Data Alerts in SSRS 2012 , describes self-service Data Alerts in detail.