Revised Dynamic RDLC Generation

I've revised some of the RLDC generation code. The basic idea is to build rather generic RLDC file off a DataSet. You can then bind both the DataSet and the RDLC to a ReportViewer control and get your report. I generate the RDLC by transforming the DataSet XML schema into a RDLC file via and XSLT transform.

Let me say that you can greatly improve the XSLT. In a custom solution where I've implemented this, I have a Page Header with the report title, column widths that expand to fit the whole page and a Footer. But that solution is highly customized and not fit as a generic report generator. Just keep in mind that you may adjust the XSLT to fit your needs.

First the code for C# helper class...

using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using System.Xml;

namespace x
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Summary description for RdlcEngine
    /// </summary>
    public class RdlcEngine
    {
        public RdlcEngine()
        {
            //
            // TODO: Add constructor logic here
            //
        }

        #region bind control
        public static void BindControl(Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportViewer rv, DataSet data, string name)
        {
            string virtualRldc = HRWebsite.RdlcEngine.BuildRDLC(data, name);
            BindControl(rv, data, name, virtualRldc);
        }

        public static void BindControl(Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportViewer rv, DataSet data, string name, string virtualRldc)
        {
            rv.ProcessingMode = Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ProcessingMode.Local;

            Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportDataSource rds = new Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportDataSource();
            rds.Name = name + "_Table";
            rds.Value = data.Tables[0];

            Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.LocalReport r = rv.LocalReport;
            r.ReportPath = virtualRldc;
            r.DataSources.Add(rds);
        }
        #endregion

        #region RDLC
        /// <summary>
        /// constructs a simple report RDLC file based on a DataSet
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="data"></param>
        /// <param name="name"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public static string BuildRDLC(DataSet data, string name)
        {
            // establish some file names
            string virtualXslt = "xslt/rdlc.xsl";
            string virtualRdlc = "rdlc/" + name + ".rdlc";
            string virtualSchema = "rdlc/" + name + ".schema";

            // set the NAME on the DataSet
            // this may or may not be necessary, but the RDLC and DataSet
            // will both have the same name if this is done.
            data.DataSetName = name;

            // write the DataSet Schema to a file
            // we should be passing a DataSet with only one DataTable
            // the rdlc.xsl does not account for multiple DataTables
            string physicalSchema = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(virtualSchema);
            data.WriteXmlSchema(physicalSchema);

            // load the DataSet schema in a DOM
            XmlDocument xmlDomSchema = new XmlDocument();
            xmlDomSchema.Load(physicalSchema);

            // append the NAME to the schema DOM 
            // this is so we can pick it up in the rdlc.xsl
            // and use it
            xmlDomSchema.DocumentElement.SetAttribute("Name", name + "_Table");

            // transform the Schema Xml with rdlc.xsl
            string physicalXslt = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(virtualXslt);
            string xml = HRWebsite.General.TransformXml(xmlDomSchema.OuterXml, physicalXslt);

            // save off the resultng RDLC file
            string physicalRdlc = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(virtualRdlc);
            XmlDocument xmlDomRdlc = new XmlDocument();
            xmlDomRdlc.LoadXml(xml);
            xmlDomRdlc.Save(physicalRdlc);

            // return the virtual path of the RDLC file
            // this is needed by the asp:ReportViewer
            return virtualRdlc;
        }
        #endregion

        #region Render
        public static byte[] RenderReport(DataSet data, string name, string type)
        {
            Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportDataSource rds = new Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportDataSource();
            rds.Name = name + "_Table";
            rds.Value = data.Tables[0];

            string virtualRdlc = BuildRDLC(data, name);
            Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.LocalReport lr = new Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.LocalReport();
            lr.ReportPath = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(virtualRdlc);
            lr.DataSources.Add(rds);

            return RenderReport(lr, name, type);
        }

        public static byte[] RenderReport(Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.LocalReport lr, string name, string type)
        {
            string extension = string.Empty;
            string mimeType = string.Empty;
            switch (type)
            {
                case "PDF":
                    extension = "pdf";
                    mimeType = "application/pdf";
                    break;
                case "Excel":
                    extension = "xls";
                    mimeType = "application/vnd.excel";
                    break;
                case "Image":
                    extension = "emf";
                    mimeType = "application/image";
                    break;
                default:
                    throw new Exception("Unrecognized type: " + type + ".  Type must be PDF, Excel or Image.");
            }

            //The DeviceInfo settings should be changed based on the reportType
            //http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms155397.aspx
            System.Text.StringBuilder sb = new System.Text.StringBuilder();
            sb.Append("<DeviceInfo>");
            sb.Append("<OutputFormat>");
            sb.Append(type);
            sb.Append("</OutputFormat>");
            sb.Append("<PageWidth>11in</PageWidth>");
            sb.Append("<PageHeight>8.5in</PageHeight>");
            sb.Append("<MarginTop>1in</MarginTop>");
            sb.Append("<MarginLeft>1in</MarginLeft>");
            sb.Append("<MarginRight>1in</MarginRight>");
            sb.Append("<MarginBottom>1in</MarginBottom>");
            sb.Append("</DeviceInfo>");
            string deviceInfo = sb.ToString();

            string encoding;
            Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.Warning[] warnings;
            string[] streams;
            byte[] result;

            //Render the report
            result = lr.Render(
                type,
                deviceInfo,
                out mimeType,
                out encoding,
                out extension,
                out streams,
                out warnings);

            HttpContext.Current.Response.Clear();
            HttpContext.Current.Response.ContentType = mimeType;
            HttpContext.Current.Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment; filename=" + name + "." + extension);
            HttpContext.Current.Response.BinaryWrite(result);
            HttpContext.Current.Response.End();

            return result;
        }
        #endregion
    } 
}

Next, the XSLT....

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!-- Stylesheet for creating ReportViewer RDLC documents -->
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
  xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
  xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt"
  xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
  xmlns:msdata="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xml-msdata"
  xmlns:rd="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SQLServer/reporting/reportdesigner"  xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sqlserver/reporting/2005/01/reportdefinition"
  >
 
 <xsl:variable name="mvarName" select="/xs:schema/@Name"/>
 <xsl:variable name="mvarFontSize">8pt</xsl:variable>
 <xsl:variable name="mvarFontWeight">500</xsl:variable>
 <xsl:variable name="mvarFontWeightBold">700</xsl:variable>


 <xsl:template match="/">
  <xsl:apply-templates select="/xs:schema/xs:element/xs:complexType/xs:choice/xs:element/xs:complexType/xs:sequence">
  </xsl:apply-templates>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template match="xs:sequence">
  <Report xmlns:rd="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SQLServer/reporting/reportdesigner" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sqlserver/reporting/2005/01/reportdefinition">
   <BottomMargin>1in</BottomMargin>
   <RightMargin>1in</RightMargin>
   <LeftMargin>1in</LeftMargin>
   <TopMargin>1in</TopMargin>
   <InteractiveHeight>11in</InteractiveHeight>
   <InteractiveWidth>8.5in</InteractiveWidth>
   <Width>6.5in</Width>
   <Language>en-US</Language>
   <rd:DrawGrid>true</rd:DrawGrid>
   <rd:SnapToGrid>true</rd:SnapToGrid>
   <rd:ReportID>7358b654-3ca3-44a0-8677-efe0a55c7c45</rd:ReportID>
   
   <xsl:call-template name="BuildDataSource">
   </xsl:call-template>

   <xsl:call-template name="BuildDataSet">
   </xsl:call-template>

   <Body>
    <Height>0.50in</Height>
    <ReportItems>
     <Table Name="table1">
      <DataSetName><xsl:value-of select="$mvarName" /></DataSetName>
      <Top>0.5in</Top>
      <Height>0.50in</Height>
      <Header>
       <TableRows>
        <TableRow>
         <Height>0.25in</Height>
         <TableCells>

          <xsl:apply-templates select="xs:element" mode="HeaderTableCell">
          </xsl:apply-templates>

         </TableCells>
        </TableRow>
       </TableRows>
      </Header>
      <Details>
       <TableRows>
        <TableRow>
         <Height>0.25in</Height>
         <TableCells>

          <xsl:apply-templates select="xs:element" mode="DetailTableCell">
          </xsl:apply-templates>
 
         </TableCells>
        </TableRow>
       </TableRows>
      </Details>
      <TableColumns>

       <xsl:apply-templates select="xs:element" mode="TableColumn">
       </xsl:apply-templates>

      </TableColumns>
     </Table>
    </ReportItems>
   </Body>
  </Report>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template name="BuildDataSource">
  <DataSources>
   <DataSource Name="DummyDataSource">
    <ConnectionProperties>
     <ConnectString/>
     <DataProvider>SQL</DataProvider>
    </ConnectionProperties>
    <rd:DataSourceID>84635ff8-d177-4a25-9aa5-5a921652c79c</rd:DataSourceID>
   </DataSource>
  </DataSources>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template name="BuildDataSet">
  <DataSets>
   <DataSet Name="{$mvarName}">
    <Query>
     <rd:UseGenericDesigner>true</rd:UseGenericDesigner>
     <CommandText/>
     <DataSourceName>DummyDataSource</DataSourceName>
    </Query>
    <Fields>

     <xsl:apply-templates select="xs:element" mode="Field">
     </xsl:apply-templates>

    </Fields>
   </DataSet>
  </DataSets>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template match="xs:element" mode="Field">
  <xsl:variable name="varFieldName"> 
   <xsl:value-of select="@name" />
  </xsl:variable>

  <xsl:variable name="varDataType">
   <xsl:choose>
    <xsl:when test="@type='xs:int'">System.Int32</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="@type='xs:string'">System.String</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="@type='xs:dateTime'">System.DateTime</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="@type='xs:boolean'">System.Boolean</xsl:when>
   </xsl:choose>
  </xsl:variable>

  <Field Name="{$varFieldName}">
   <rd:TypeName><xsl:value-of select="$varDataType"/></rd:TypeName>
   <DataField><xsl:value-of select="$varFieldName"/></DataField>
  </Field>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template match="xs:element" mode="HeaderTableCell">
  <xsl:variable name="varFieldName"> 
   <xsl:value-of select="@name" />
  </xsl:variable>

  <TableCell>
   <ReportItems>
    <Textbox Name="textbox{position()}">
     <rd:DefaultName>textbox<xsl:value-of select="position()"/>
     </rd:DefaultName>
     <Value><xsl:value-of select="$varFieldName"/></Value>
     <CanGrow>true</CanGrow>
     <ZIndex>7</ZIndex>
     <Style>
      <TextAlign>Center</TextAlign>
      <PaddingLeft>2pt</PaddingLeft>
      <PaddingBottom>2pt</PaddingBottom>
      <PaddingRight>2pt</PaddingRight>
      <PaddingTop>2pt</PaddingTop>
      <FontSize><xsl:value-of select="$mvarFontSize"/></FontSize> 
      <FontWeight><xsl:value-of select="$mvarFontWeightBold"/></FontWeight> 
      <BackgroundColor>#000000</BackgroundColor> 
      <Color>#ffffff</Color>
      <BorderColor>
       <Default>#ffffff</Default>
      </BorderColor>
      <BorderStyle>
       <Default>Solid</Default>
      </BorderStyle>
     </Style>
    </Textbox>
   </ReportItems>
  </TableCell>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template match="xs:element" mode="DetailTableCell">
  <xsl:variable name="varFieldName"> 
   <xsl:value-of select="@name" />
  </xsl:variable>
  
  <TableCell>
   <ReportItems>
    <Textbox Name="{$varFieldName}">
     <rd:DefaultName><xsl:value-of select="$varFieldName"/></rd:DefaultName>
     <Value>=Fields!<xsl:value-of select="$varFieldName"/>.Value</Value>
     <CanGrow>true</CanGrow>
     <ZIndex>7</ZIndex>
     <Style>
      <TextAlign>Left</TextAlign>
      <PaddingLeft>2pt</PaddingLeft>
      <PaddingBottom>2pt</PaddingBottom>
      <PaddingRight>2pt</PaddingRight>
      <PaddingTop>2pt</PaddingTop>
      <FontSize><xsl:value-of select="$mvarFontSize"/></FontSize> 
      <FontWeight><xsl:value-of select="$mvarFontWeight"/></FontWeight> 
      <BackgroundColor>#e0e0e0</BackgroundColor> 
      <Color>#000000</Color> 
      <BorderColor>
       <Default>#ffffff</Default> 
      </BorderColor>
      <BorderStyle>
        <Default>Solid</Default>
      </BorderStyle>
     </Style>
    </Textbox>
   </ReportItems>
  </TableCell>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template match="xs:element" mode="TableColumn">
  <TableColumn>
   <Width>0.75in</Width>
  </TableColumn>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template name="replace-string">
  <xsl:param name="text"/>
  <xsl:param name="from"/>
  <xsl:param name="to"/>
  <xsl:choose>
   <xsl:when test="contains($text, $from)">
    <xsl:variable name="before" select="substring-before($text, $from)"/>
    <xsl:variable name="after" select="substring-after($text, $from)"/>
    <xsl:variable name="prefix" select="concat($before, $to)"/>
    <xsl:value-of select="$before"/>
    <xsl:value-of select="$to"/>
    <xsl:call-template name="replace-string">
     <xsl:with-param name="text" select="$after"/>
     <xsl:with-param name="from" select="$from"/>
     <xsl:with-param name="to" select="$to"/>
    </xsl:call-template>
   </xsl:when>
   <xsl:otherwise>
    <xsl:value-of select="$text"/>
   </xsl:otherwise>
  </xsl:choose>
 </xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>