# Ruport 0.2.5: Enumerable DataSets, and things that go bump i **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [November 16, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruport-0-2-5-enumerable-datasets-and-things-that-go-bump-i/48381 "2005-11-16T22:19:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gregory.t.brown)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruport-0-2-5-enumerable-datasets-and-things-that-go-bump-i/48381/1 "2005-11-16T22:19:50Z")
Welcome to the release of Ruport 0.2.5: The “I’m releasing too often” edition. ## What is Ruport? Right now, Ruport is alpha software, but it is already useful. It is both a report generation and formatting framework AND a reporting library that aims to make talking to database FOO and outputting in format BAR trivial. You can even talk to things that aren’t databases, like CSV files. You have a choice of using the ruport application to automate a lot of your work, or using the library to implement your own application based on it. That part is up to you. Ruport currently can take a query and talk to any Database DBI supports, and return you a DataSet, which can do neat things, like easily output a CSV or an HTML table and even email them trivially. This functionality will be expanded greatly in coming releases. ## Who is this new rcanieso guy? I’m no longer all out on my lonesome with Ruport. Say hello to Robert Canieso, our new maintainer of the Ruport::Format module. ## About 0.2.5 Well folks, the new stuff here is actually quite useful, despite the fact that I have not yet updated the ruport-example package to show off the shiny new features. In previous versions, I was using Report::DataSet and Report::DataRows as these sort of pseudo Enumerable messes. No more! now: query “SELECT \* FROM FOO” do |data| @report = data.map { |row| row[“name”] } .join(" | ") end will work just fine! This again, goes in the category of I should have read the modules chapter of the pickaxe earlier. Unfortunately, for those who were using the more low level Report::Engine#select or Report::Engine#execute which returned DBI::Row objects… this feature has gone away in Ruport 0.2.5 Report::Engine#query is now your one stop shop, and it will continue to be improved in newer releases. We’ve also begun work on Ruport::Format and now support html and csv output. See the CHANGELOG for the rest. ## Where do I get it? Ruport is a gem. on most \*nix, it’s probably just: sudo gem install ruport on windows, it’s probably: gem install ruport You can also rake your own gem, or work directly with the source by downloading one of the packaged releases (available as zip, gzip, bzip2, gem): [http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group\_id=856&release\_id=3543](http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=856&release_id=3543) ## How do I use this thing?!? If you want to use the ruport executable, first start by typing: ruport generate my\_project\_name to create a little directory structure to work on. Then edit config/ruport.yaml and populate it with DB / Email info. Then start writing your templates. Oh… don’t know how to do that? There is a set of examples at: [http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group\_id=856&release\_id=3481](http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=856&release_id=3481) which you can just unzip and then follow the PDF walkthrough. Two Caveats: 1. The new features in 0.2.5 are not in this walkthrough yet, I will release ruport-example 0.2.4 some time this week. 2. There has been some concern about the artwork on the front page of the manual. It was the result of me searching wikipedia for stove when looking for suitable “cookbook” artwork. But the confusion it is causing will have it removed from the next version of the walkthrough, possibly replaced with a nice big slab of chunky bacon You can also use the API documentation (which is not illustrated and sadly patchy in parts) [http://ruport.rubyforge.org/docs/](http://ruport.rubyforge.org/docs/) Or read the source directly. Or email me on or off list, because I need the feedback! ## Minor Complaint: the 1.8.3 / 1.8.4pre1 bug with RubyGems / RubyForge is a nightmare! I had to rebuild everything… and then I had to update version numbers… and whine and cry about it. Please release the fix to the public as soon as you can! -Greg ---
**Author:** ![gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gregory.t.brown)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruport-0-2-5-enumerable-datasets-and-things-that-go-bump-i/48381/2 "2005-11-20T04:28:43Z")
On 11/16/05, Gregory B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > aren’t databases, like CSV files. You have a choice of using the > ruport application to automate a lot of your work, or using the > library to implement your own application based on it. That part is > up to you. > > Ruport currently can take a query and talk to any Database DBI > supports, and return you a DataSet, which can do neat things, like > easily output a CSV or an HTML table and even email them trivially. > This functionality will be expanded greatly in coming releases. Have you seen IBM’s Directory Integrator at all? It’s sort of a any format to any format tool which is quite useful. It’s used a lot to pull stuff out of a database, save it to a csv, then input it to a LDAP directory, etc. It strikes me that this seems as if it could have a similar scope. Cool stuff. ---
**Author:** ![gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gregory.t.brown)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruport-0-2-5-enumerable-datasets-and-things-that-go-bump-i/48381/3 "2005-11-20T04:52:52Z")
On 11/19/05, swille [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Have you seen IBM’s Directory Integrator at all? It’s sort of a any > format to any format tool which is quite useful. It’s used a lot to > pull stuff out of a database, save it to a csv, then input it to a > LDAP directory, etc. It strikes me that this seems as if it could > have a similar scope. Cool stuff. I haven’t seen that, but yes, the number one goal of Ruport is to act as a bridge between various databases and data sources as well as many different output formats. The main idea is that Ruport will make it so similar but incompatible systems will be able to talk, without pain. This way, you can focus on the reporting, not the bridgework. Thanks for pointing this out, I’ll look into it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gregory.t.brown)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruport-0-2-5-enumerable-datasets-and-things-that-go-bump-i/48381/4 "2005-11-28T06:15:16Z")
On 11/27/05, Tom A. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Consider the functionality of Jasper Reports - it’s a java-based, > industrial strength open-source report writer. Replicating these > features in Ruby, with YAML specs instead of XML, would be a killer app!!! > > Check it out… [http://jasperreports.sourceforge.net/](http://jasperreports.sourceforge.net/) With all these great libraries to steal from, Ruport should be on top in no time! 🙂 Seriously though, that looks interesting, thanks for the link. To anyone who’s offered suggestions, I greatly appreciate them, and have tucked them in a special place within my heart. As soon as I burn through the rather massive TODO list Ruport is accumulating, I will definitely do a ‘best of’ pruning of other libraries 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@gregory.t.brown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gregory.t.brown)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruport-0-2-5-enumerable-datasets-and-things-that-go-bump-i/48381/5 "2005-11-28T05:18:44Z")
Consider the functionality of Jasper Reports - it’s a java-based, industrial strength open-source report writer. Replicating these features in Ruby, with YAML specs instead of XML, would be a killer app!!! Check it out… [http://jasperreports.sourceforge.net/](http://jasperreports.sourceforge.net/) Tom