ReportMill Software Inc. announced on Wednesday that ReportMill 7, its Java reporting tool, is now available. The new version features a new, simpler XML file format, native Microsoft Excel file generation, support for native viewing and printing from Swing applications, and performance enhancements.
ReportMill allows you to use Java applications to dynamically generate reports and Web pages in such formats as PDF, HTML, Flash, Excel, and others. It pulls information directly from any Java dataset, instead of requiring an unnecessary trip to the database, and because it hooks into the custom business logic found in a developer’s object model, you can reuse that code rather than rewrite it in proprietary template macro languages.
Instead of the traditional “document strips” approach taken by other report writers, ReportMill also features a high-end page layout application that allows you to easily build templates by drawing elements and dragging and dropping XML files to bind data and get a keys browser. You can also use keys that represent a set of objects to create tables, graphs, or matrices.
ReportMill runs on any platform with support for Java-based Web application servers and servlets, including those from Sun, IBM, BEA, Oracle, and Apple. You can check out an evaluation copy of ReportMill 7 on the ReportMill Software Web site. Pricing is US$495 for the page layout application and $4,995 for the single processor deployment license, which covers installing the ReportMill framework on a Web application server.
The company’s Web site also lists prices for support options and mentions that upgrades from earlier versions of ReportMill are 30 percent of the list price. They ask that you contact them for a quote.