Things you wish you knew when you started with JasperReports Server/Library

[johnathan.wells]

Let's hear it gentlemen - if you could travel back in time and tell yourself anything about JasperReports, what would you say?

[james.t]

We're not a golf club you know.

[johnathan.wells]

I beg your pardon?

[james.t]

Perhaps there are some ladies who would like to contribute.

[djohnson53]

Maybe you should start, Johnathan.

[james.t]

Johnathan, two things spring to mind:

1. Have a version control practice that works for you. We simply version controlled the jrxml file but in hindsight this isn't enough. The whole report unit - jrxml and parameters need to be included. I think this is where the import-export tools would come in very handy.

2. Make use of relative dates. You really need these if you want to schedule reports that use date parameters. I initially wrote reports using java.util.Date but never again - always use relative dates for date parameters.

[johnathan.wells]

I would love to - if I could. I'm actually a Jasper newcomer and was hoping to get some veteran wisdom on common pitfalls I could avoid.