In-Depth

LogiXML Caters to Power Users with New Release

Tweaked product offers more control over querying and reporting

• By Stephen Swoyer
• 08/03/2005

Last month, LogiXML Inc. released LGX Ad Hoc Report Builder Optimizer Edition, a tweaked version of its LGX Ad Hoc Report Builder reporting system that features improved data manipulation and security features.

In LGX Ad Hoc Report Builder, LogiXML has traditionally delivered a Web-based reporting solution that caters to the needs of non-technical end users. It’s designed to let knowledge workers and even BI novices create their own queries and run their own reports without necessarily knowing anything about relational databases or SQL.

LogiXML’s new LGX Ad Hoc Report Builder Optimizer Edition, on the other hand, is designed to give power users more control over queries and reports—and should also make it easier for administrators to define security roles for power users. “Our goal is to be responsive to our users which drives our aggressive upgrade cycle for the LGX Ad Hoc Report Builder,” said Arman Eshraghi, LogiXML’s CEO, in a statement. “LogiXML is responding with a stream of additional features and refinements in the Optimizer Edition to support effective decision-making and easy administration.”

For example, officials say, the Optimizer Edition ships with new “Role Packages”—i.e., enhancements that let administrators define user access privileges by assigning “Roles” and “Rights.” For power users, the Optimizer Edition lets administrators assign additional responsibilities—such as application and security administration, report management and report scheduling, and the ability to control access to shared folders—on the basis of a user’s role.

Elsewhere, the Optimizer Edition ships with what LogiXML says are more powerful data manipulation capabilities, including support for new grouping features designed to supplement LGX Ad Hoc Report Builder’s drill-down-style grouping with a new “flat grouping” feature that shows all detail rows in a grid with headers and footers for aggregate values. Flat grouping is an oft-requested feature by power users who want to see all report details at once.

Also on the grouping front, reports can now be grouped on any number of columns defined with up to five levels of grouping. Power users can also specify multiple aggregates for columns included in the main report.

LogiXML touts a bevy of additional enhancements to the Optimizer Edition’s data-manipulation credentials, such as support for more data types in calculated column formulas, including non-numeric columns. As a result, officials say, users can use calculated columns with initial sort order, grouping, charts and report parameters. Similarly, new statistical columns show “numeric” or “percentile rankings”, “running totals” and “difference” between current and previous values.

Because the Optimizer Edition can run calculated and statistical columns on the relational database itself, LogiXML claims it delivers better performance than its predecessor. Plus, “virtual views” give administrators the ability to create customized views for end-users and for those who want to convert their reports .PDF files, export to .PDF is now faster, scaleable, more reliable, and included in the base product at no extra charge.

LGX Ad Hoc Report Builder Optimizer Edition supports most major relational databases, including Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server and MySQL. It can also be deployed across the .NET architecture, LogiXML says.