Hour 21. Additional Data Sources for Crystal Reports

When thinking about data sources for Crystal Reports, most people tend to think about popular databases such as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Oracle, IBM DB2, and so on. However, the extent of Crystal Reports reaches far beyond these traditional relational databases. You've already learned about how Crystal Reports can use OLAP-based data sources in Hour 20, "Multidimensional Reporting Against OLAP Data;" this hour will describe a few more advanced data sources that give you even more flexibility than you already have. The data sources discussed in this hour are as follows:

• COM-based data sources

• Java-based data sources

• XML as a data source

• Solution kits