SSRS Tutorial for Beginners: Learn How to Generate SSRS Reports

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a server-based report generating software. It belongs to the suite of Microsoft SQL Server. It was added as an add-on in 2014. In simplest terms, SSRS refers to a specific type of reporting that lets people produce formatted reports. They usually contain data in many forms: tables, graphs, images, and charts. In this SSRS tutorial, we will review the basics of SSRS report generation, starting from the life cycle of the reporting process. 

Therefore, the first section of the course will be more of an SSRS tutorial for beginners, covering the main principles of using SSRS. In the second section, I will create an SSRS report from scratch to explain the necessary steps of this task. 

The life cycle of the reporting process

This SSRS tutorial for beginners explains the principles that are vital to using SSRS. For instance, one of the basic features of this software system is the life cycle of reporting. It consists of three stages, determining different phases of the report generation.

• In the authoring phase, the report author indicates the way their report should look. During this stage, SQL Server Development Studio and the SSRS tool are used.
• The second stage is management that is concerned with handling the published report. 
• The final stage is delivery for determining which reports are necessary for your user community. 

SSRS and its advantages explained

SSRS report system is beneficial to many companies, ranging from small to huge. By using this software, people can simplify the management of massive databases, especially when there is a time crunch involved. Instead of database-related tasks, specialists can focus on other things. 

In order to create an SSRS report, the end-user needs to send a request for the report. After that, the request for data is sent. Therefore, the report will always depict the newest and most relevant information. When data is received, it is used to create a pre-formatted report, which ends up at the hands of the end-user. 

What will you find in this course? 

In this SSRS tutorial, you will learn a lot of useful information about SSRS reporting. First of all, we will begin with some general principles such as the life cycle of the reporting process, shared and embedded DataSource and DataSet, and how to restore databases using SSMS for performing practicals. To create an SSRS report, we will be using a database that you will be able to download from this course. 

Then, this SSRS tutorial will start explaining the steps needed to create a report. I will begin from the basics of generating the SSRS report and indicate the purpose of SSDT components, how DataSet is used in reporting, etc. 

The third section of this SSRS tutorial will focus on parameterized reports. For instance, I will show you how to add parameters in the report, how to use the dropdown parameters, how to add All option to SSRS dropdown, how to use a column which has the date datatype as a parameter, and many more possibilities of the SSRS reporting!