Each engine has its particular advantages and drawbacks, as detailed in the following sections. One common drawback is that these reports run on Java™ only. You must create custom report programs for COBOL.
BIRT is an Eclipse-based reporting system that allows for sophisticated output in PDF or HTML format, including graphics, tables, graphs, and charts.
You can design a report in the Report Design perspective of your Workbench and then write EGL code that drives report creation. EGL support is available in JSF handlers and in programs generated for Java.
The EGL text report engine draws on EGL parts such as the generic Handler, Delegate, and ExternalType. It is particularly useful for the migration of reports from I4GL. You can use the Handler part to respond to a limited list of specific events during the output of report data. Your data source can be anything you can read from in EGL. It should take far less time to create a simple report design with this engine than with JasperReports or BIRT.
As the name implies, the only available output format for the EGL text report engine is a plain text file (though you may also direct output to stdout).
The JasperReport engine allows the greatest complexity. You use a design file to dictate the layout, which can be quite complex. You can nest as many subreports as you want to any depth, passing information to the subreport from the report or subreport that calls it. The addition of an EGL JasperReports handler means you can create dynamic reports that respond to events that occur as the report is generated, such as reaching maximum values on subtotals, or changing between various commission structures. Output options include PDF, HTML, XML, plain text, and comma separated values (CSV) for use with spreadsheet programs such as Excel.
With greater flexibility comes increased effort required in using the product. Mastering the design file is difficult enough that third-party applications are available to help you. These applications, including JasperReports, are third-party products, not affiliated with IBM®.
If all you need is a simple text report, JasperReports may be a more powerful tool than you need, like using a jet plane for a short trip down the street.