Decisions, Decisions...Calculations in SSRS Source Query or in Expressions?

Presenter: Melissa Coates

Session Details

As a report developer, you want to ensure your reports are structured for accuracy, performance, maintenance, and reusability.  One of your many decisions includes where to perform report-specific calculations when the source is a SQL Server relational database. 

Did you know some functions performed within a T-SQL source query do not return exactly the same result when performed within an SSRS expression?  Whereas some do return the same results, but require slightly different syntax.  Do you have a good feel for which calculations are inherently more suited to being performed within the report instead of the source query, or vice versa, and why?

In this session we will compare and contrast a sampling of functions available in T-SQL and SSRS, with an emphasis on handling aggregation, ranking, dates, and strings.   A "cheat sheet" will be available online for future reference.

Session Goals:  

• Identify common situations when you can expect different results.

•Discuss when performing calculations within SSRS is preferred, versus when the T-SQL source query may be more appropriate.

About the Speaker

Melissa Coates is a Business Intelligence developer based in Charlotte, NC.  As a consultant with Mariner, she specializes in delivering BI and Data Warehousing solutions.  Melissa has more than 10 years of experience as a hands-on developer with various reporting and analysis tools, and currently focuses exclusively on Microsoft BI solutions.

Formerly a CPA, Melissa is ridiculously proud to be an IT geek.  Her background gives her a valuable blend of technical, business, and training skills.  She has a keen interest in visualization techniques and best practices.  When Melissa steps away from the laptop, you can probably find her training her border collie or digging in the garden.  Check out Melissa's blog at http://www.sqlchick.com.