Definitions

The Queries obtain data from a database.  When results of queries are displayed on a form as shown in the figure below, this is called a Dashboard.  In the case of CSV, Banded, and Extract Reports, the results of the queries become input to the report design with the results displayed or stored elsewhere.  Within the Argos Explorer tree, reports exist as "child" objects of a DataBlock. 

Reports as children of a DataBlock:

All report types residing under the same DataBlock use the same form. Reports are “children” of the DataBlock.

The Form created by the DataBlock Designer using the Argos DataBlock Designer, is used for two purposes:

• To obtain input selections from the user executing the report.  The input selections can be passed to the queries to limit the results.  For example, in the figure below a report is created which lists sales information for selected employees.  The input selections are employee names and date range which limit the extent of the query.

• To display the results of the report.  Dashboards can display results on the form.  The figure below shows the query results displayed on the same form as the input selections.

Whenever a user executes a report, the form designed as part of a DataBlock will be displayed as shown below. The input selections made by the user become query parameters.

A Form can contain various types of objects such as:

• Edit boxes, list boxes, drop down boxes, scroll boxes - all of which can be used for data entry and display.
• Static and dynamic labels.
• Graphics images from a file or a database.
• Buttons used to control navigation and query execution.
• Shape objects
• Date objects to enter/display dates with an intuitive calendar to ease selection.
• A wide variety of charts/graphs (requires Interactive Charts module).
• OLAP Data Cubes for intuitively viewing and analyzing data (requires OLAP module).
  
  

Form Queries and Report Queries:

• Within a DataBlock, the queries used by Dashboards are called the Form Queries, and the query used by CSV and Banded Reports is called the Report Query.
• There can only be one Report Query per DataBlock. 
• Within a DataBlock, multiple Form Queries can be created to populate list boxes  and drop down boxes.  Queries can also be used to assign values to Argos Variables.
• All report types within a DataBlock share the same form.

The Argos DataBlock Designer is used to create the forms and contains tools for adding objects to the form. The figure below shows the form design for the report shown in the previous figure.

The objects created on this form are as follows:

• A graphics image (“evisions”) at the upper left.
• Date objects to allow the user to select beginning and end dates.
• A button (Go) to initiate execution of the report.
• Static text labels (Start Date, End Date, and Employee Name) for each object.
• A shape object, which is the rectangle surrounding “Employee Name”.
• A multi-column list box containing a list of employees to be included in the report.  The person executing the report selects the employees of interest.
• A multi-column list box to display the query results at the bottom of the form.
  
  

Other object types could have been included on the form.  For example, a chart or OLAP cube could have been designed with its results displayed on the form.  A description of available objects is included within the next section.

It is important to note that certain objects (such as edit boxes, list boxes, etc.) can be used to obtain input from the person executing the report and can also be used to display the results of the query.  In this example, multi-column list boxes were used to select employee names and also to display the results of the query. Other types of objects can also be used which are able to obtain input and display results.

The advantage of having reports tied to DataBlocks is that you don't need to create separate input selections and separate queries for every report you create. Similar reports can share the same form, and the same query.

As mentioned earlier, CSV, Banded, and Reports use the same form as Dashboards within the DataBlock to gather input selections. However these reports do not display data on the form as is done with Dashboards.  Although CSV, Banded, and Extract reports share the same form within a DataBlock, they do not share the same query with a Dashboard (this will be explained further in the examples section of this document).

The components of a DataBlock described above mention that the DataBlock contains a form and query; however DataBlocks could contain multiple forms and queries.  Creation of forms and queries (Form Queries) used for Dashboards is done within the “Form Design Tab” within the DataBlock Designer.  Creation of a query used by CSV, Banded, and Extract reports (Report Queries) is done within the “Report Query – Visual Design” tab. The creation and use of both types of queries will be explained in the examples that follow.

An OLAP system allows user to get into details or generalize, filter, sort and regroup data at the time of analysis. Intermediate and final totals are recalculated instantly.

The user is presented data in an electronic spreadsheet format.  By moving rows and columns or clicking them, the user makes the system perform calculations and show data in different aspects. Thus, the user can produce many reports out of a single dataset on his own, without any assistance from IT-specialists.

Filtered OLAP cubes: Argos supports filtered OLAP cubes in which cubes can be built off of ANY data source – you are not dependent on a data warehouse.

Note: You must be licensed for the OLAP module or the Interactive Charts module in order to create OLAP cubes or charts.