TCR Report Packages

Tivoli Common Reporting provides two ways to package your BIRT report design files viz. Report Design Format and Report Definition Format. Both have the same acronym, so we can't abbreviate them.  This article explains the two formats in detail.

Report Design Format

This is the simplest of the two formats. How do you create them?   Simply create a zip file of your BIRT project directory (note! you need to create the zip file of the PROJECT not the ReportDesign file).  That's it. In Windows, you can right click on the project directory and click Send To->Compressed (Zipped) Folder, there you're done!  Import the resulting zip file into TCR and it will import the files with .rptdesign extension as TCR reports. 

The Path to the report design files will be reflected in the TCR navigation tree.  For example, if your report design files are located in /GBSReports/Netcool directory, then the report designs in TCR will appear under GBSReports->Netcool in the TCR Navigation tree. 

Report Definition Format

TCR Documentation does not give good idea about Report Definition Format. Creating Report Definition Format involves creating an XML file that describes the report set structure. The advantage of this format is that you can create a well documented report set and it also provides the ability to share the same report design across multiple levels in the navigation tree.   Even though, this format helps to create a well-documented report set, ironically, TCR does not have a detailed documentation such as details about the XML Schema.   The OPAL ITM62 Report set uses the Report Definition Format and it should give you some idea, but that's all I have come across so far.

Overall, the Report Design Format should be good enough for most of our needs and it is much easier to change the Report set structure as well.  However, Report Definition Format gives more control over Report set organization and one hopes that more information about the format will be available in future releases.