Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports is a business intelligence application marketed to small- and medium-sized businesses by SAP.[1]
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| Developer(s) | SAP |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows |
| Available in |
|
| Type | Reporting software |
| License | Trialware |
| Website | crystalreports |
History
Terry Cunningham and the Cunningham Group originated the software in 1984.[2] Crystal Services Inc. marketed the product[3] (originally called "Quik Reports") when they could not find a suitable commercial report writer for an accounting software they developed add-on products for, which was ACCPAC Plus for DOS (later acquired by Sage).[4] After producing versions 1.0 through 3.0, Crystal Services was acquired by Seagate Technology in 1994.[5] Crystal Services was combined with Holistic Systems to form the Information Management Group of Seagate Software, which later rebranded as Crystal Decisions and produced versions 4.0 through 9.0. Crystal Decisions was acquired in December 2003 by BusinessObjects, which produced versions 10, 11 (XI) and version 12 (2008).
SAP acquired BusinessObjects on October 8, 2007, and released Crystal Reports 2011 (version 14) on May 3, 2011. The latest version released is Crystal Reports 2020 (14.3.x) on June 13, 2020.
The file extension for Crystal Reports' proprietary file format is .rpt. The design file can be saved without data, or with data for later viewing or sharing. Introduced with the release of Crystal Reports 2011 (version 14.0), the read-only .rptr file extension option allows for viewing, but cannot be modified once exported.[6]
Several other applications, including Microsoft Visual Studio versions 2003 through 2008, and Borland Delphi, at one time bundled an OEM version of Crystal Reports as a general purpose reporting tool.[7] Microsoft discontinued this practice and later released their own competing reporting tool, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).[8]
Versions and editions
| Version | Release Date[9] | Ownership | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crystal Services | ||
| 2 | 1992 | Crystal Services | |
| 3 | 1994 | Crystal Services | |
| 4 | 1995 | Crystal Decisions | |
| 5 | 1996 | Crystal Decisions | |
| 6 | 1997 | Crystal Decisions | |
| 7 | 1998 | Crystal Decisions | |
| 8 | 2000 | Crystal Decisions | D,P,S |
| 8.5 | 2001 | Crystal Decisions | A,D,P,S |
| 9 | 2002 | Crystal Decisions | A,D,P,S |
| 10 | 2003 | BusinessObjects | A,D,P,S |
| XI (11) | 2004 | Business Objects | D,P,S |
| XI R2 (11.5) | Nov 24, 2005 | Business Objects | D,P,S |
| 2008 (12) | Mar 31, 2008 | Business Objects | D |
| 2011 (14.0.x) | Aug 31, 2011 | SAP | D |
| 2013 (14.1.x) | Aug 29, 2013 | SAP SE | D |
| 2016 (14.2.x) | Mar 08, 2016 | SAP SE | D |
| 2020 (14.3.x) | June 13, 2020 | SAP SE | D |
- A=Advanced Developer, D=Developer, P=Professional, S=Standard[6]
References
- "SAP Crystal Solutions". SAP. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
- "Meet the Team". Indicee. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
As the founder of Vancouver-based Crystal Decisions in 1984, Cunningham grew the company over ten years into a global software business around its flagship product, Crystal Reports.
- "Crystal Reports Links dBASE and Paradox Data". Data Based Advisor. Access My Library. September 1, 1992. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
Crystal Services says that they will address both the installation problem and the documentation omission in the new version. …Crystal Reports is being marketed by them and Borland International…
- "ERP and Crystal Reports". Stephen Smith's Blog. 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
- "Seagate to Acquire Crystal Services". The Mercury News. News bank. 1994-05-11. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Crystal Reports Family of Offerings. Features by Edition Comparison Chart" (PDF). SAP. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- Peck, George (2008). Crystal Reports 2008: The Complete Reference. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 566. ISBN 978-0-07-159098-3. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
Not only was Crystal Reports bundled with earlier versions of Visual Basic…, but every Professional or higher version of VS.NET, up to and including Visual Studio 2008, includes an option to install Crystal Reports as well…
- "Support for Crystal Reports for Visual Studio". Microsoft.com (knowledge base). Microsoft.
- Uher, Ludek (March 29, 2010). "Short History and Resources for Crystal Reports Software Developer Kits (SDK)". SAP. Archived from the original on 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
Bibliography
- G. Taylor, Allen (June 3, 2008). Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies (1st ed.). For Dummies. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-470-29077-4.
- Peck, George (June 19, 2008). Crystal Reports 2008: The Complete Reference (1st ed.). McGraw-Hill Osborne Media. p. 968. ISBN 978-0-07-159098-3.
- McCoy, Cate; Maric, Gord (2002). Mastering Crystal Reports 9 (1st ed.). Sybex. p. 639. ISBN 0-7821-4173-0. Archived from the original on 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2010-09-21.