Can BIRT be used within a web application without deploying a separate web application on the server?

Question

Can I use BIRT within my application instead of deploying as a separate app on the webserver?

I know that BIRT viewer can be integrated with the application by installing it on the server. I went through the process and its very cumbersome. It requires me to import too many JARs and then code too much even for a simple report. Jasper on the other hand does this elegantly.All I need is 2-3 JARs and 5 lines of code to generate a simple report. Is it possible to accomplish the same with BIRT?

Answer 1

It is possible to add just the report engine (and possibly the report designer) to your application, and have everything happen via code, instead of URL from the viewer. But you'll have to implement your own viewing functions, e.g. paging through the report, and if you need the report in different output formats, there's code you'll have to write for that, too, instead of letting the viewer application do it.

Answer 2

You can deploy the open source viewer, which will allow you to do this. There is also a BIRT Reporting Web Project you can create using Eclipse's Web Tool Platform that will create a web project for you to run BIRT reports in. (BIRT WTP Integration download)

http://www.eclipse.org/birt/phoenix/intro/intro02.php