Reportlab Enterprise Reporting suite - downloads available

[Andy Robinson]

ReportLab announces the availability of evaluation beta downloads for
its forthcoming enterprise reporting tools:

RML2PDF:        Translates high level XML document descriptions
                to PDF format.

        ** DOWNLOAD NOW: http://www.reportlab.com/rml **

PageCatcher:    Creates PDF documents which import and modify pages
                and graphics from existing PDF documents.

        ** DOWNLOAD NOW: http://www.reportlab.com/pageCatcher **

 ReportLab's Document Creation Solution
========================================
ReportLab's solution solves several central problems that ebusinesses
face in creating publishing caliber reports that are customized,
produced in real time, in volume, and platform independent. Existing
reporting tools are limited to database reports, are typically
Windows-based,
have problematic restrictions on layout and graphic design, and
go straight to a printer.  More complex publishing systems
involve pipelines of applications which are simply too unwieldy for
real-time use in large scale enviroments

ReportLab's product suite allows direct creation of rich PDF reports
on web or application servers in real time. The tools run on any
platform, can actively acquire data from any source (XML, flat files,
databases, COM/Corba/Java), place no limits on the output, and
facilitate electronic delivery and archival.  The ReportLab suite
lets you define your own business rules to automatically create custom
online reports, catalogs, business forms, and other documents.

Today's businesses must provide concise and timely information to
customers, potential customers, investors, partners, regulators and
other "information consumers," preferably customized to an audience of
one.  In many cases these documents can begenerated automatically, and
the ReportLab toolkit provides the best tool for generating these
documents.  The ReportLab suite can assemble complex documents from a
mix of pre-prepared and automatically constructed text, images,
tables, and graphics.

The integrated ReportLab document generation suite links the
flexibility of XML and HTML with precise control of PDF to deliver
targeted and personalized documents in the right format and with the
right impact.

Components:
===========

The ReportLab suite's three main components are the commercial RML2PDF
and PageCatcher products, together with the Open Source ReportLab core
API.

Our RML2PDF product is a translator which takes a document
specification written in RML and translates the specification into a
PDF document.  RML (Report Markup Language) is an XML dialect which is
as easy to use as HTML but which also provides a high degree of
control for page layouts and graphical presentations.  RML also
includes interfaces to PageCatcher (see below), and plug-in
functionality allowing custom charts and data displays to be added.
Companies can use the tools they know best to generate RML files much
as they would HTML. To create a PDF document, describe the document
using RML, possibly importing whole pages directly from other PDF
documents, and RML2PDF will construct the document for you.  No
programming required!
        ** DOWNLOAD NOW: http://www.reportlab.com/rml **

Our PageCatcher product  enables the reuse of any existing PDF files,
allowing firms to use their favorite design elements and tools.
PageCatcher extracts graphical elements fromPDF files for inclusion in
documents generated by RML2PDF or the ReportLab core API.  Since any
external program with the ability to print can produce PDF files via
Adobe Acrobat, this means that a ReportLab document can include
graphical elements created by virtually any program.
        ** DOWNLOAD NOW: http://www.reportlab.com/pageCatcher **

The ReportLab core API provides programming interfaces for PDF file
generation. Using the API programmers can build plug in components for
RML2PDF, or whole programs for creating PDF documents.
        ** DOWNLOAD NOW: http://www.reportlab.com/download.html **

Example Uses
=============

These are some of the many possible applications for Reportlab
technology:

Electronic Forms and Fulfilment:
--------------------------------
Invoices, purchase orders and custom contracts which would normally be
sent by post can be generated at the point of sale and delivered
immediately.  Application forms can be generated with pre-filled data
for signature by clients, increasing response rates and accuracy. The
same PDF document can be archived on the vendor's system, providing a
complete record; delivered through the web or email; and, if needed,
routed for subsequent printing and posting.

Realtime online securities statement.
-------------------------------------
A securities firm, fund manager, or bank could use the ReportLab
toolkit to build a downloadable customer statement in real time, in
response to a click on a web form. The statement would be
indistinguishable from a personalized investment analysis with charts
and tables reflecting the customer's investment portfolio, and perhaps
some automatic risk/return analysis together with hypothetical
projections and analysis. The attractively laid out statement could
provide several views of the customers portfolio data, performance
histories of the securities held, and various analytical reports such
as portfolio analysis indicating opportunities to rearrange the
holdings according to the customer's stated goals.

Management, scientific and engineering reporting.
-------------------------------------------------
Periodic reports are an essential tool of modern corporate life. These
reports frequently integrate text, tables, and charts, often in a
standard format. An automated script can use the ReportLab toolkit to
construct these reports by querying multiple databases and accounting
systems, acquiring text, and constructing charts to order. Other
programs could automatically send the reports out by electronic mail
or print them on appropriate printers, or otherwise archive and
distribute the reports electronically.

Personalized portal newsletter.
-------------------------------
Many web portals provide personalized spaces associated with
personalized advertising. A portal could use the ReportLab toolkit to
create downloadable personalized documents, and include personalized
advertising targeted to the user's profile and interests. PDF is much
better for framing personalized content and advertizing than HTML
since PDF provides complete control of page layout, rather than the
limited control in HTML. Content and advertising presented in PDF
could attain magazine quality presentation even when printed on a
user's low-priced color printer.



Bottom Line:
============
The modern world is awash in information and data.  To be successful,
the modern business must present the right information to the right
person in the right way. ReportLab's document creation suite is the
next generation in easy, fast, scalable presentation-caliber
reporting.

CONTACT:
        info at reportlab.com
        http://www.reportlab.com/