43 Building a Report with a Barcode

In this chapter, you will learn about reports that include a barcode. By following the steps in this chapter, you can generate the report output shown in Figure 43-1.

Figure 43-1 Barcode JavaBean Web report output

Description of "Figure 43-1 Barcode JavaBean Web report output"

Concepts

• By using a barcode JavaBean, you can build reports that display a barcode to make tasks like tracking shipping orders and employee identification numbers easier.

• You can create a paper or Web report that uses JavaBeans. For a paper report, you must use the Java Importer to create a PL/SQL wrapper so that you can call the JavaBean from your PL/SQL business logic. For a JSP-based Web report, you must call the JavaBean from your report. In Reports Builder, the JavaBean automatically generates the barcode for you.

  Note:

  For information about the Java Importer, and the ORA_JAVA built-in package, see Oracle Reports online Help topics under Reference > Java Importer.

• You can learn more about the barcode JavaBean on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN): on the Oracle Reports page (http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/reports/index.html), click Getting Started to display the Getting Started with Oracle Reports home page. In the list of topic sections on the left, click Any Format. In the expanded list of sub-topics, click PL/SQL-Java Bridge.

Example Scenario

In this example, you will build two reports, one for paper and one for the Web. The paper report shows an invoice for a single customer who has ordered multiple items from a company. The barcode indicates the tracking information for the order.

As you build these example reports, you will:

• Create a Barcode Report for Paper:

  • Import the Java classes into Reports Builder using the Java Importer to add the barcode JavaBean.

  • Create a package to store your information using the Program Unit editor.

  • Create a Before Report trigger to set up your barcode JavaBean for the report.

  • Create a query in the Data Model view to retrieve the data from the schema..

  • Create a formula column to retrieve the barcode image.

  • Create a formula column that returns the order total.

  • Create a layout for your report.

• Create a Barcode Report for the Web:

  • Create a query in an existing HTML file.

  • Create three formula columns in your data model to call the barcode data for the report.

  • Initialize the barcode JavaBean and set its properties by editing the JSP code in the Web Source view.

  • Run your report to the Web to view the output in a browser.

To see a sample paper report with a barcode, open the examples folder named barcodebeanpaper, then open result\shipping_manifest.pdf. To see a sample Web-based JSP report with a barcode, open the examples folder named barcodebeanweb, then open result\shipping_manifest_web.jsp. For details on how to open these reports, see "Accessing the Example Reports" in the Preface. The example files used in this chapter are listed and described in Table 43-1.