Microsoft Bridges SQL Server Reporting Services with PHP Apps

A new open source project from Microsoft allows developers to bridge SQL Server Reporting Services with PHP applications. SQL Server Reporting Services SDK (Software Development Kit) for PHP was released on the Redmond company’s repository for open source project, CodePlex, last week, and it is available as a free download. PHP developers will be able to build, deploy, and manage SQL Server Reporting Services reports integrated into their apps, by leveraging the SDK, according to Claudio Caldato, senior program manager, Interoperability Strategy Team.

“This SDK enables PHP applications to simply utilize SQL Server Reporting Services, Microsoft’s Reporting and Business Intelligence solution. Best of all, these scenarios can be done using the free (as in “free beer”!) SQL Server 2008 Express with Advanced Services edition. This edition includes the SQL Server 2008 Express database engine as well as graphical administration tools and the Reporting Services server components for creating, managing, and deploying tabular, matrix, graphical, and free-form reports,” Caldato explained.

Specifically, the SSRS SDK for PHP offers a library designed to take advantage of the SQL Server Reporting Services SOAP APIs. PHP developers can build apps capable of calling SSRS remote APIs for a range of operations. In this regard, PHP apps can query the SSRS for reports list, for parameters and for formats, but also in order to execute a report.

“The API is built on top of the SQL Server Reporting Services Web Service API using SOAP as the underlying communication mechanism. PHP applications can then manage reports, parameters, credentials, and output formats with SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services,” Caldato added. “The design of the report is created with Business Intelligence Development Studio which comes with SQL Server 2008 Express with Advanced Services. Developers can alter the style of the output formats to fit their needs.”