EXCEL-VBA for Reporting

MS-EXCEL as Reporting Tool for ODBC Database

Almost all RDBMS Databases are coming with sophisticated Front End tools for developing Data Entry forms, Reports and Charts. Then what is the need for using MS-EXCEL for the same purpose. I think these may be the reasons...

• MS-EXCEL is most easy to use spreadsheet application. Business users know MS-EXCEL very well.
• The existing knowledge of MS-EXCEL can be leveraged for better presentation. I mean the user can customize the reports. The developer can concentrate on implementing complex business logic rather than implementing User Interface. Most of the user will use that data effectively if they are able to customize the presentation (Like self-cooked meals).
• Business experts with MS-EXCEL knowledge are able to process the data on their own. There is no need for explaining the business logic to the developer/analyst. Or atleast it will help them to explain the logic better. (Earlier in my career, when our Factory Manager explains me his requirement, I used to implement the same in QuatroPro and get his approval. This helped me to develop robust FOXPRO applications)
• It is cost effective solution to use MS-EXCEL as a Front End Tool
• It can be used for WHAT-IF analysis. The same data can be represented for different scenarios by changing some parameters. MS-EXCEL ability for number-crunching can be better utilised for this purpose. (Practically this has numerous application. One of my spreadsheet application for Producation Planning is designed as WHAT-IF analysis tool)
• There are many... But I want to cut is short as you may feel it is boring.

One of my earlier post in this blog demonstrated how to fetch and populate EMP table into MS-EXCEL. This post can be considered as continuation of that post.