To Create SQL Report, Should i Include Aggregate Functions in SQL Query or Do it via Reporting Tools?

While learning about creating MS SQL Reporting and deploying reports to SQL Reporting Server, i found that there is no need to worry about creating a query that involves sorting, grouping and so on. All i need to do is fetch the columns and data i need from various tables and then once the data loads in dataset, i can use the GUI tools to do the groupings, aggregate functions, sorting, etc which will rid of duplicate e.g. categories name. I find it much easier than typing my own complex queries to write the report i need. Thus, from now i will just focus on writing a query that fetches data without worrying how the output should look like. Once the data is loaded in sql reports, i will use the tools available to format the data 开发者_JS百科in the way i want.

I won't focus much on coding grouping, aggregate functions, etc manually anymore (only when necessarily needed).

Is this the right and practical way to create reports?

Please confirm ...

Thanks

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I would lean on the reporting tool as much as possible as long as it doesn't create a performance issue which in most cases it shouldn't.

By leaning on the reporting tool you have more flexibility to work with the underlying data set the way you want to.

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One of the things I regret about reporting services is the lack of automated unit testing (though now that I've written that, I see that there is some attempt at this: http://rsunit.codeplex.com/). One thing I can unit test is the query. So I tend to do all my work in the query (which is always in a stored procedure) and have a "dumb" report to the extent possible.