In the light of the development of mobile technologies by Stimulsoft, we are pleased to present the reporting tool, created using the HTML5 technology, and optimized for working with tablet PCs, mobile devices and smartphones. The team leader of the project Kondratovich Anatoly will tell us about the brand new product and how to use it.
- Anatoly, what is the essence of this new tool?
- Our newest product is designed specifically for mobile devices such as tablet PCs, smartphones. It is used to create new reports, editing, viewing and printing. The advantage of this generator is that it is specifically optimized for use on mobile devices such as tablet PC, which can always be with you. There is no need to be tied to your office room and be limited on your workplace. Now our users are truly mobile, since, wherever they are, they can work with their reports.
Also one of its strengths is that it is not a special application for iOS or Android but a collection of web components, which use a technology called HTML5, which allows our components to be more universal and accessible to our users. It is easy to integrate the functions of mobile reporting in the current web application. There is no need to install these components on the end devices; it is enough availability of a mobile web browser that supports HTML5. In addition, as it's just HTML5, the product can work with tablet PCs, smartphones and the desktop which you can run and use with a simple click of the browser - the absolute universality.
- What is the name of the new product?
- The new product will be called very simply - Stimulsoft Reports.Mobile. The name speaks for its purpose and direction of use.
- What is HTML5?
- Everything is very simple. HTML5 is the latest version of HTML standard. It is the most promising technology for use on the Internet. With this technology it became possible to support the latest applications, allowing the possibility to transfer desktop applications in the web world. Based on HTML5 we will release a new reporting tool for mobile applications.
- Why did the choice lay on HTML5?
- The report generator for working with reports on the tablet PCs was in demand by our users for a long time, but, due to complexity of implementation, we had been unable to start its designing. We began to use HTML5 because Silverlight and Flash technologies (where we already have a full range of tools for designing reports) is not supported on smartphones. The only technology that provides a wide range of options is HTML5. Recently, the technology HTML5 gained the strength and support, and tablet PCs got enough performance and we started creating a new reporting utility for mobile applications.
- Is it possible to use the tried and tested reports of our other products?
- As usual, there is full compatibility across all our products. That means that reports designed in, for example, Stimulsoft Reports.Silverlight, can be used in Stimulsoft Reports.Mobile. No difficulties in this case do arise.
- What are the difficulties are you meeting during the process of development?
- When creating this reporting tool, there were some minor difficulties, related to the novelty of the young HTML5 technology. This was due to the fact that many devices and browsers are not adapted to HTML5. When developing each block of code we had to check it on different browsers and adapt it for each browser, ensuring the cross-browser capability. However, because of this, we can say with confidence that no matter what web browser you are using you will always see the same report in the same appearance.
- How much time it took to develop Stimulsoft Reports.Mobile?
- The development phase took a little over a year. It would be possible to shorten it, but we did want to ensure that nothing was missed. I had to "dig" on the Internet, read and study a lot of information on the platform HTML5 and, despite the novelty of the technology to develop a complete, ready-to-work stable instrument.
It is a matter of months the official release be live. We are pleased that in a short time, our users can edit their reports directly on the tablet PCs, view reports on smartphones, thus making their business more mobile, more flexible and faster. Have a great time with our products!
- Anatoly, what is the essence of this new tool?
- Our newest product is designed specifically for mobile devices such as tablet PCs, smartphones. It is used to create new reports, editing, viewing and printing. The advantage of this generator is that it is specifically optimized for use on mobile devices such as tablet PC, which can always be with you. There is no need to be tied to your office room and be limited on your workplace. Now our users are truly mobile, since, wherever they are, they can work with their reports.
Also one of its strengths is that it is not a special application for iOS or Android but a collection of web components, which use a technology called HTML5, which allows our components to be more universal and accessible to our users. It is easy to integrate the functions of mobile reporting in the current web application. There is no need to install these components on the end devices; it is enough availability of a mobile web browser that supports HTML5. In addition, as it's just HTML5, the product can work with tablet PCs, smartphones and the desktop which you can run and use with a simple click of the browser - the absolute universality.
- What is the name of the new product?
- The new product will be called very simply - Stimulsoft Reports.Mobile. The name speaks for its purpose and direction of use.
- What is HTML5?
- Everything is very simple. HTML5 is the latest version of HTML standard. It is the most promising technology for use on the Internet. With this technology it became possible to support the latest applications, allowing the possibility to transfer desktop applications in the web world. Based on HTML5 we will release a new reporting tool for mobile applications.
- Why did the choice lay on HTML5?
- The report generator for working with reports on the tablet PCs was in demand by our users for a long time, but, due to complexity of implementation, we had been unable to start its designing. We began to use HTML5 because Silverlight and Flash technologies (where we already have a full range of tools for designing reports) is not supported on smartphones. The only technology that provides a wide range of options is HTML5. Recently, the technology HTML5 gained the strength and support, and tablet PCs got enough performance and we started creating a new reporting utility for mobile applications.
- Is it possible to use the tried and tested reports of our other products?
- As usual, there is full compatibility across all our products. That means that reports designed in, for example, Stimulsoft Reports.Silverlight, can be used in Stimulsoft Reports.Mobile. No difficulties in this case do arise.
- What are the difficulties are you meeting during the process of development?
- When creating this reporting tool, there were some minor difficulties, related to the novelty of the young HTML5 technology. This was due to the fact that many devices and browsers are not adapted to HTML5. When developing each block of code we had to check it on different browsers and adapt it for each browser, ensuring the cross-browser capability. However, because of this, we can say with confidence that no matter what web browser you are using you will always see the same report in the same appearance.
- How much time it took to develop Stimulsoft Reports.Mobile?
- The development phase took a little over a year. It would be possible to shorten it, but we did want to ensure that nothing was missed. I had to "dig" on the Internet, read and study a lot of information on the platform HTML5 and, despite the novelty of the technology to develop a complete, ready-to-work stable instrument.
It is a matter of months the official release be live. We are pleased that in a short time, our users can edit their reports directly on the tablet PCs, view reports on smartphones, thus making their business more mobile, more flexible and faster. Have a great time with our products!
