Server Basic Requirements

rbuser

I use RB and Delphi in a client server environment, but not on the web.
Now I'm looking at a new project to provide customer access to reports
based on data in a database (Sql Server or IB). As a software firm, I'd
like to be able to offer the resulting application to other clients.

The ultimate customer will have nothing installed - except whatever
browser he uses. So what do I need to build? The RB Webtier and the RB
Server attachment to the database? Is the Webtier part of RB, or is that
just something that is built in Delphi separately?

Is a specific Delphi product (ie Enterprise) required for RB Server? Is
it required to build the Webtier? (Usually you can't build web stuff
with Delphi Professional).

What level of web knowledge is required? Some of the RB materials say
you don't have to learn about all the web stuff. Again, we have Delphi
and RB skills, but I'm curious if we're going to get bogged down in web
problems. Just looking for some input before I commit to something.

nardmoseley

Patrick,

Thanks for your interest in RB Server Edition.

RB Server makes it very simple to implement what you describe. You will not
get bogged down in web stuff.

RB Server Edition includes RB Enterprise. It actually installs two products:
RB Server and RB Enterprise. Each product has it's own Developers Guide,
Demos, Tutorials, Help, etc.

I recommend downloading a trial version of RB Server Edition. Install it on
a test machine or a virtual machine. Spend an afternoon working thru the
Tutorials in the RB Server Developers Guide. The tutorials will walk you
thru the process of registering existing reports with a report server and
building a webtier.

Delphi Professional includes Web Broker, that is all you need. You use Web
Broker to build an ISAPI.dll or ASP COM object that includes the TrsWebTier
component.

More details about the architecture can be found here

http://www.digital-metaphors.com/products/report_server/architecture.html

Here is a link to a live demo running on our web server

http://www.digital-metaphors.com/RBServerLive

Here is a link to the server section of rbWiki. There is a nice
architectural diagram here and supplemental articles.

http://www.digital-metaphors.com/rbWiki/Server



--
Nard Moseley
Digital Metaphors
www.digital-metaphors.com