Professional SQL Server Reporting Services

I have looked over a number of books about SQL Server Reporting Services (RS), and after comparing them decided that this one is best for my needs. The book starts with a clear overview of just what RS is, what its components are, and how they work together. This seems to be the part that many other books just miss. Other books seem to get caught up in the hype but fail to deliver a direct, no-frills or buzzwords, account of the actual architecture. I also like that the books assumes that the reader already knows SQL, .NET programming (although you don't have to be a professional to understand their examples), and SQL Server. This enables them to avoid repeating material which is better covered on other books, and allows them to focus on explaining just what Reporting Services can do, and lets the reader get started using RS right away. My one beef is that their code examples are in both VB.NET and C#, which takes up unnecessary space in the text. But that's a minor complaint when they otherwise do a great job explaining this fascinating and powerful product.

This book does an excellent, thorough job of introducing the product (which is awesome!), and then going all the way through to advanced coding & custom manipulation. The authors have clearly presented the material in a comfortable style, while remaining seriously technical. As a consultant, seminar presenter, and MS2030 trainer, I use this book extensively as a reference as well as a recomendation. My background includes over 10 years of varied development, & reporting.

There are 2 RS (Reporting Services) books out right now, this one, and Brian Larson's book. Larson's book is good if you are a newbie to RS, but the examples he uses are very minimal. How to Choose: 1. If you're a solid SQL Server user and are comfortable setting up RS and have a little C# or VB.NET experience; go with this book. 2. If you're moderately clueless but really want to learn; use Larson's book "Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services," {and maybe pick-up Murach's C# (.Net Developer)} You may have to do what I did and go through both RS books. I started out clueless and the WROX book would have been too much to start with. Larson's book was a good starter for me, "an advanced newbie" but left me wanting much more. This review will eventually be out of date, but I think I'll stand by the WROX book (though it has errors). Larson's book is going to get beat out as the entry level book pretty quickly. (as soon as someone publishes another one) WARNING: If you have never installed SQL Server, this is not the place to start. Reporting Services is not Word. It takes a moderate level of Server knowledge to even get started.

This book is not only a great introduction to Reporting Services, but has increased my knowledge of both XML and the .NET data access technologies. Most of the examples were in both languages. I found this to be helpful since my company is migrating to C#.

I found the book to be an excellent source for getting up to speed on Reporting Services. I found chapters 2 and 9 to be very well written. If you are thinking about moving from Crystal to Reporting Services, I would recommend adding this book to your library.