Designing Data Access - Professional SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services - page 130

Creating a Data Source When Defining a Dataset
If you create a new report without using the Report Wizard, data sources are selected or created from the
report designer. With the report open in the designer, make sure you're on the Data tab. From the Data
set drop-down list, select New Data set to get the dialog shown in Figure 5-6.
Figure 5-6
Select a New Data Source from the data source drop-down list, and this will open the Data Link
Properties dialog with the same options as selecting the Data Source new item template.
Regardless of the method used, a data source is simply a connection string saved into the report defini-
tion or shared data source file.
Data Sources and Query Languages
The examples in this chapter will all use SQL Server 2005 sample databases. When creating a data
source, if you choose any data provider other than SQL Server, queries must be written in the query lan-
guage appropriate for that product. For most relational database products, this will be a dialect of SQL.
For example, Oracle uses a version of SQL called PL/SQL, and Microsoft Access understands Access
SQL. Some providers require unique types of query expressions or scripting code specifically designed
for that data source environment.
When defining a data set's query expression, the designer will display one of the two similar query win-
dows. If you are using the SQL Server data provider, the Transact-SQL Query Builder will be displayed.
In the case of another data provider that uses another query language or dialect of SQL, a generic query
window is displayed.
To query cube structures in Analysis Services, a specialized expression language called Multidimensional
Expressions (MDX) is used. The current implementation of Reporting Services supports MDX with some
limitations. Unlike the Cube Browser in Analysis Services and other specialized multidimensional data