[6 selections of form tool comparison] Which is better, open source or commercial?
There are various types of form tools, but it is important to select one according to the purpose of use and the skill of the user. Here I compared the form tools I used in the past.
Commercial form tool </ h2>
There are many commercial form tools, some of which focus on selling products, while others focus on implementing projects. Not only the product but also the service of the manufacturer must be considered.
I did it 10 years ago and now it's a commercial form tool under SAP. Crystal Reports only supports a single dataset and relies on database calculations (such as stored procedures or cross products) on multiple datasets. Difficult to support multiple databases.
2.FineReport
FineReport is a tool that covers a wealth of functions from form development to form management. Using an Excel-like GUI, you can select a dataset by dragging and dropping and create a color form without a program. In addition to the paid business version, we also offer a ** free version (with no time limit). ** **
It has been evaluated as one of the recommended forms and reporting tools by the Gartner Global Macnate Guide.
While cognos are extremely powerful and feature-rich, they are confusing to operate. A simple schedule is still fine, but for forms with many data sources or complex specifications, cognos is not so easy for beginners.
Open source form tool
1.BIRT
BIRT is an Eclipse-based open source form system, mainly used for Java and J2EE based web applications. It is divided into two parts: a GUI form creation engine based on Eclipse and a runtime component that joins the application service.
iReport is a GUI form creation tool developed for jasperreports in JAVA language. The iReport visualization screen allows users to develop complex forms including charts, images, sub-forms, etc., and iReport integrates JFreeChart's graph package so that XML JasperDesign files can be edited.
The first is the open source form tool that I do, and it is often used in combination with iReport. You can create a form in Java environment by JasperReports. Form output supports output to PDF, HTML, XLS, CSV and XML.
If you choose an open source form tool, the above three are not bad. I've never used or developed it, but I'm familiar with the shortcomings of open source tools.
(1) Learning materials are mainly written in English, and it takes time to study.
(2) High development and maintenance costs
(3) If there is a problem without a service guarantee, we cannot respond.
On the other hand, commercial form tools are rich in functions and have high cost performance.
Summary
From my point of view, commercial form tools have more advantages than open source. When using the open source form tool, it is a prerequisite to master the code. In addition, you should always edit your code for long-lasting project maintenance. Isn't a commercial form tool better to ensure the stability of the project after delivery? Many commercial form tools offer a trial version, so you can validate the features with the trial version to see if it meets your needs before officially deploying it.
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