A JasperReports Server attribute is a name-value pair associated with a user, organization, or server. Attributes let you create Domains that are customized for each user based on the values of their attributes. For example, if the database schema is defined using an organization-level attribute, the Domain will access data specific to each user's organization. This lets you create one Domain for many organizations, provided they all use the same tables in the schema.

To define or modify attributes on the server, see the section on attributes in the TIBCO JasperReports Server Administrator Guide.

You can use attributes in the Domain design file. When you use an attribute, the server derives the value at run time, based on the user, organization, or server. Attributes are supported in DomEl expressions in the following locations:

They can also be used in other locations in the Domain design, including:

If you want to use a JasperReports Server attribute in a data source, you must specify the attribute when you create the data source, not in the Domain design file. See the TIBCO JasperReports Server Administrator Guide for information about using attributes in data sources.

Attribute Syntax

When referring to an attribute, you can specify the attribute categorically or hierarchically:

For join expressions, calculated fields, and pre-filters, the DomEL syntax is used. See Domain Expression Language (DomEL) for more information.

If no level is specified, the server will search for the attribute hierarchically, starting at the 'user' level:

For schema names and derived tables, the attribute must be escaped with curly brackets ({}):

For more information on attributes, see the section "Managing Attributes" in the TIBCO JasperReports Server Administrator Guide. For information about using JasperReports Server attributes in Domain security files, see User Attributes and Creating a Domain Security File.

Examples

To use a JasperReports Server attribute as the name of a schema in the data source, use the attribute syntax in the string element for the entry for that schema. You can use a constant or an attribute for the XML key attribute of entry.

            public              {attribute('schemaAttribute')}      [/code]                    

For pre-filters, JasperReports Server attributes can appear in the expression for the filterString element in the jdbcTble or jdbcQuery element:

                  sales_country == attribute('attributeCountry')[/code]                    

For calculated fields, JasperReports Server attributes can appear in dataSetExpression in the field element:

For derived tables, JasperReports Server attributes can appear in the query element in jdbcQuery. For example, if you have defined an attribute with the name of the table you want called tableAttribute, a derived table that uses that attribute might look like this:

                                          select   {attribute('tableAttribute')}.warehouse_sales as warehouse_sales,   {attribute('tableAttribute')}.warehouse_cost as warehouse_cost,  ( {attribute('tableAttribute')}.warehouse_sales -  {attribute('tableAttribute')}.warehouse_cost) as warehouse_profitfrom  {attribute('tableAttribute')}    [/code]                    

You can use attributes in the secondary joins in a complex join expression. However, you can't use attributes in the first join in the expression:

    [/code]                    

Attribute Casting Functions

A JasperReports Server attribute value is always a string. You can use the following functions to cast it to other types in DomEl expressions, for example if you want to compare it to a field value.

Guidelines for Using Attributes

Note the following when using attributes: