Report Tool for RM/Cobol

A very similar discussion on the Extend/AcuCOBOL forum occurred recently.

I suggest that you invest in Relativity, which is an ODBC driver (SQL engine) for your RM/COBOL files.  Once your data is accessible via SQL you will find you can choose a report generator from a large group of report generators, some of which are open source/free.  Google "ODBC enabled report generator" for an idea...

If you are an independent software vendor, opening your data to SQL access will be a strong selling point.

Another possibility, which I have employed extensively for years, is to use Apache FOP (Google it) and XML Extensions. I won't go into a long-winded explanation unless you are interested, but it checks all your boxes.

I am a serious advocate of loose coupling within applications. Your proposed approach, and that of L&L, is a tight coupling. Loose coupling is also known as 'separate permanent data store, business rules, and user interface from each other.' COBOL has a legacy of combining these, but there is no compelling reason to carry on the legacy when loose coupled approaches offer strong advantages.

Good luck in your quest. I merely offer three plus decades of experience doing this stuff. ;-)

[quote]Can 'Relativity' print directly from RM/Cobol???[/quote]

No, Relativity is a SQL engine.  It enables you to use just about any report generator you wish, including several that are open source/free.  I suggest you Google the term, " odbc enabled report generator".  Relativity also enables using ODBC-enabled applications, notably Microsoft Office.  

Others have proposed single point solutions for reporting.  These solutions, even though they may work for today's problem, are proprietary and create a 'single point of failure' in your application development.  If the chosen reporting solution ceases to be available and supported on new OS platforms, you will be back looking for a new solution.

If you use enabling middleware such as Relativity, which is supported by the same company that publishes your COBOL products, you can have a greater expectation that the product will be continued into the future.  (In fact, Micro Focus has recently announced Relativity for its newest COBOL.  Relativity has been in the market for over 20 years.)  The availability of a large selection of reporting tools that are ODBC-enabled removes the danger of a single point of failure.

In the spirit of full disclosure, in case you have not read my biography, I am one of the original developers of Relativity.  I am biased - no doubt about that.  But I have also seen COBOL developers go through the same decision process you are working on now, and have seen the results of choosing a proprietary single-point solution.