Does converting Oracle .rdf files to .rep do anything different than changing the extension?

Question

I'm using Oracle forms and reports 11g. When I was told how to compile the reports (the .rdf files) I was told to just convert them to .rep files. I didn't think to check in report builder for a conversion tool, so I just went and renamed the extension of the file.

It turns out everyone else goes into Reports Builder, and exports the .rdf file to a .rep file. So I'm wondering if doing it that way is somehow different than just renaming the extension as I've been doing?

Answer 1

Yes it does.
.rdf is the definition format of Oracle Reports.
.rep is the compiled format of Oracle Reports.

The runtime can execute both. Running .rep files is a bit faster, because precompilation is already done.

Answer 2

use Reports 11g menu Tools\File Conversion, provide the source file .rdf and target file .rep name and folder.

this will generate .rep file which is executable.