A few years ago I started documenting the syntax differences between the main flavors of SQL. This, eventually, turned into the SQL Functions cheat sheet I have made available on my site (and still refer to regularly).

The main challenge I had creating the cheat sheet was that I didn’t have all these databases installed to experiment with. I had to ask volunteers who worked in specific environments to provide syntax examples for their flavor of SQL.

I was recently researching SQL syntax when a poster linked to a “SQL Fiddle” he had created.  SQL Fiddle is a site that allows you to ‘fiddle’ with SQL statements online, using a variety of common SQL languages. In many cases you can test statements using multiple versions of the same language. That led me to a handful of other sites that do the same thing with a different mix of languages. Here are three of the most complete ones I found, along with the languages they support:

http://sqlfiddle.com
SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Postgre, SQLLite

https://dbfiddle.uk
SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Postgre, MariaDB, SQLLite, DB2, Firebird, TimeScaleDB, YugabyteDB

https://sqlize.online
SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Postgre, MariaDB10, SOQOL

Note, these databases don’t always come with sample tables. You might need to run a statement to create the table(s) you want. Or you may be able to run your queries against the system tables.

In April I made my Intro course materials available for free.  I mentioned this in my blog and newsletter and so far several hundred users have downloaded the material. This month I am going to make my Advanced course materials available in the same way.

Just like the Intro material, you are welcome to download the materials and use them. Share them with your friends. Please do not modify them or try to sell them.

Note that as a consultant, people often pay me to help them use or learn Crystal. You can, too. So if you have questions about Crystal Reports I am happy to schedule a short consult for you. This is explained further on these links:

https://kenhamady.com/faq.shtml
https://kenhamady.com/support/default.html

Adam Butt of APB Reports in Norway has developed some sophisticated web dashboards using Crystal Reports exported to txt format. You have to see them to appreciate them. They are interactive and the data behind them can be refreshed automatically as often as needed to keep them up to date.

Adam accomplishes this by creating special text objects in the report to hold the needed HTML code and javascript. The report is then scheduled to export in txt format, but is named as an HTML file.  The file includes all of the data and code to run the dashboard. The files can then be automatically uploaded to a website by the same scheduler software that created the export. Adams process is built around Visual Cut as the export engine, but you could probably accomplish something similar with other scheduling tools.

And if you don’t want to learn the techniques, you can hire Adam to create dashboards for you.

When I started teaching Crystal Reports in 1995 I was also teaching another tool called R&R. In comparing the two I found that R&R had about 20 features that were missing from that year’s version of Crystal.  Crystal had five features I liked that were missing in R&R. But the next year, when the next version of CR came out, the numbers had flipped. Most of the R&R features that I had mentioned were now included in Crystal. That started my transition from R&R to Crystal. So yesterday, when I made my first attempt at comparing Crystal Reports and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) there was a bit of déjà vu.

For the past 8 years I have been able to Continue Reading »
Crystal Reports vs SSRS

(This vendor no longer offers Crystal Reports file recovery)

A user recently sent me a Crystal Reports file that seemed to be corrupted. Every time he tried to open it Crystal would crash. I tried it myself using several versions of Crystal and got the same results. I told him that there was no way I knew of to recover the file and hoped that he had a backup of an older version. He didn’t, and the report represented several weeks of work. Lesson number one. Keep some interim backups.

But, later that same day he told me that he found a company that was able to recover the file. Continue Reading »
Recovery of corrupted RPT files