Noob question: Considerations for setting up on a hosted server?

[worldctzen]

Sorry for the Noob questions. I've tried reading through all the product descriptions, FAQs, and searched the forums.. but it seems the questions I'm stumped on are too low-level to warrant being addressed directly. Apparently there's an assumption of a minimum level of knowledge with web applications and server administration.

I'm having difficulty determining if JasperReports Server is the tool I'm actually looking for. I'm approaching this as a self-taught website builder. This is my second project with web apps, the first was setting up PHPBB on a hosted server, after I figured out how to set up a XAMPP environment for local development. I'm familiar with SQL Server and MS Reports Server (report dev, not admin), so this looks to be a familiar tool from the user/report builder side.

At present, I'm looking for a reports server that I can use to provide tournament results and statistics for a living history martial combat group.

1. I'm assuming JasperReports is meant to be installed on a server and accessed through a browser, and not just run on a local machine (derp question, but honestly, I haven't seen this spelled out,)

2. If so, can it be run standalone, or does it HAVE to be wrapped in some other web application? IE, can I run and use it on a hosted server the same as the version running on my machine? It seems the answer should be yes, but then I haven't been able to resolve my other two questions, which would help resolve this one.

3. Besides the database (ie MySQL, MSSQL, etc), what does my host server need to have available for JasperReports to operate? If my hosted server doesn't specifically mention Java (ie, they do mention PHP, PYthon, Ruby, etc), does this mean JasperReports WON'T run on their server? Do I need to look specifically for a hosted Java server? Or, is it a default that Java will run on a server, so it's not mentioned?

Thanks for helping school a neophyte.

[gdmoreno]

Happy to see that you're considering JasperReports Server! I think you could download and install the product on your PC (it comes with an installer), and then start poking around in there. The installer will set up JasperReports Server and the components it needs: the Tomcat application server, the Postgres database and Java. That'll give you a better sense of the how it works. To answer your questions:

1. Yes. JasperReports is a web application that runs on an application server. The application server itself can run on your PC, a hosted server, or somewhere in the Cloud. Tomcat is the most commonly used application server, and it's the one that the installer sets up for you. End users log into JasperReports Server via a browser.

2. I'm not sure I understand your question. With JasperReports Server, you'll always need to run it within an application server, there's no way around that. If you decide to use a hosted server, you'll need to make sure it has Java, you'll need to set up Tomcat on it, and install a database.

3. JasperReports Server needs Java to run. You'll need JDK 1.6 at least. If your hosted server doesn't have Java available, then you'll need to set it up there somehow, or find a host server that has it.