In a nutshell...

[aronen]

Is my assessment correct if I intend to use Pentaho to implement a dashboard web user interface:

I can embed the Pentaho engine inside my Java application, which will allow me to implement a dashboard user interface by defining some XML files and coding JSP pages utilizing Pentaho APIs.

If simple SQL queries are sufficient to generate the data for the dashboard then no Java code is necessary, otherwise some Java code is necessary for the purpose of creating more complex data.

Pentaho allows me to create graphs and charts (as opposed to simple tables) and drill downs to more detailed charts. These things are achievable via these XML files and JSP code.

There are plugins to Eclipse that make it easier to manipulate the XML files.

Creating a dashboard is still a software development effort rather than a matter of a user customizing views by clicking on some web pages. Pentaho does not come with a visual tool for laying out screens that generates the XML and JSP code for you. This is asking for the sky. I just want to make sure I understand.

I know there is a lot more to Pentaho, but this is where I am starting from.

Thanks.

Post edited by: aronen, at: 2006/11/17 22:14

[jtcornelius]

Hello and welcome to the Pentaho Community!

Your summary describes our current dashboard offering pretty accurately. You can plug the Pentaho libraries into your own Java Application and use the engine as a basis for building a dashboard design GUI.

Our roadmap for Pentaho Dashboards does include providing a GUI to simplify the process of dashboard creation and maintenance. If this is a project you are interested in contributing to either by providing feedback on requirements or actual coding, I would love to discuss this further with you.

Beyond providing a GUI for Dashboard Creation, we will progress more into end-user, self-service dashboards.

I welcome your comments and feedback.

Regards,
Jake

[guzaldon]

I think a GUI would be awesome when building the dashboard. the only catch is will the end result be JSPs or a jboss portlets? Since after all both are presented in the PCI. Or would it be more for making the "widgets" to be displayed on the dashboard.

Then again the dashboard builder's guide does help to walk you through the JSP Dashboard unless that's changed. Been a while since I looked at it.

When I put together some dashboards back around RC1 I kept running into issues with how to create the widgets. So even if the gui just help create the widgets that would be well on the right why.

That's just my two cents.

Nic