Understanding the Additional Crystal Reports Data Sources

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 Chapter 16, "Formatting Multidimensional Reporting Against OLAP Data with Crystal Reports"; this chapter describes a few more advanced data sources that give you even more flexibility than you already have. The data sources discussed in this chapter are as follows:

• .NET- and COM-based data sources

• Java-based data sources

• XML as a data source

• Solution kits

If you would like to review how Crystal Reports can use OLAP-based data sources, p. 360