Most projects require a data source; that is, an external table (or tables) that contains the specific information needed to create your reports or labels. Using this application, you can access data through a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver, through an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver, or through user-defined Java Objects:

 

JDBC data sources are managed through the Drivers item in the Project Pane. JDBC provides a standard API to access databases, regardless of the driver and databases. For more information about JDBC data sources, see Defining a JDBC data source.

 

ODBC data sources are defined through your operating system’s control panel. ODBC is an interface standard on Windows platforms that provides a common API to access databases. For more information about ODBC data sources, see Defining an ODBC data source.

 

Java Objects are an advanced data source. Before adding a Java Object table, you need to define your own classes to create a Java Object. For more information about Java Object data sources, see Creating a Java Object.

 

Once you have determined the data source for your project, you will need to add tables to your project file based on that data source. Note that specific examples of adding tables from Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Comma-Separated Value, and SimpleText data sources can be found later in this User Guide.