SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 Projects with Visual Studio 2012 - Learning SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 - page 66

This has changed in SQL Server 2012 and a new Visual Studio Shell called SQL
Server Data Tools ( SSDT ) dedicated to BI is installed with an installation of SQL
Server 2012. Visual Studio 2012 continues to have projects of other types, not
including those that are in SSDT. Visual Studio 2012 ( VS2012 ) can be used for
creating reports and viewing both local as well as (report) server-based reports.
In this sense, if the Report Manager, the frontend tool for viewing reports on the
Report Server, or the URL access is not available, then the report viewer controls
in Visual Studio can be used. Report Viewer is also available as a redistributable
runtime package.
In this chapter, we look at installing and using both SSDT and Visual Studio 2010.
We also work with a number of hands-on exercises in acquiring the necessary skills
to create and view reports with these tools.
In this chapter, we will learn about SQL Server Data Tools and carry out a number
of tasks. The following list is an overview of the contents:
• Introduction to SSDT
• BI projects in SSDT
• Creating reports using SSDT
• Creating reports using VS2012
Introduction to SQL Server Data Tools
SSDT installs when you install SQL Server 2012 as a shared feature. Although it is
not a complete replacement for SQL Server Management Studio, SSDT offers the
user a similar canvas for working with the SQL Server except for a few specialized
tasks (a quasi SSMS functionality). Follow this link to get the complete picture
of what SSDT can do in terms of working with SQL Server 2012: http://msdn.
microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh272686(v=vs.103).aspx
This quasi SSMS functionality is one part of SSDT. It is also the platform to work
with BI projects and the latest BI semantic model, an all-inclusive model. The various
pieces of the BI stack are woven together more tightly than before, and the model
can be leveraged by all business users. In addition to SQL Server related tasks
from inside Visual Studio Shell, SSDT also provides BI project types and tools for
developing SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services, Reporting Services, and Integration
Services BI solutions.