ReportForge

ReportForge is a personal, single-operator WinForms tool for managing DevExpress reports and rendering them on demand.

Current Shape

• Core contains SQL Server access, schema creation, report/source storage, source password encryption, parameter validation, and DevExpress rendering.
• Studio is the desktop UI for managing sources, creating reports, and designing/saving .repx layouts.
• Host is a small local console process exposing report rendering over HTTP.
• SQL Server stores the application tables in the reporting schema.

Scope

This is intentionally small:

• One operator.
• Personal desktop workflow.
• WinForms, DevExpress Reports, Dapper, and SQL Server.
• Report management and rendering only.
• Local/trusted Host endpoint only.

Keep future changes sized for that reality.

Core Nouns

• Report - a reusable DevExpress report template. It stores the report name, description, saved layout XML, and declared parameter schema.
• Source - a saved SQL Server connection used by reports. The password is stored encrypted at rest using the local secret key.

Everything else should be treated as mechanism unless it clearly earns a place in the model.

Database

Core.Data.Schema.EnsureCreated() creates:

• reporting.Report
• reporting.Source

Database connection values are read from mssql.env.

Host API

The Host reads RenderEndpointPrefix from Host/App.config.

Default:

http://localhost:8787/

Endpoints:

• GET /health returns a simple status payload.
• GET /reports lists renderable reports. A report is renderable only after a layout has been saved.
• POST /render renders one report and returns a base64 file payload.

Example render request:

{
  "reportId": 1,
  "exportType": "Pdf",
  "params": {
    "pFrom": "2026-01-01",
    "pTo": "2026-01-31"
  }
}

Allowed export formats:

• Pdf
• Excel
• Image
• Html

Workflow

1. Configure mssql.env.
2. Run Studio.
3. Create one or more sources.
4. Create a report.
5. Open the designer, build the .repx layout, and save it.
6. Run Host.
7. Call /reports to inspect available reports and parameters.
8. Call /render to generate the requested file.

Rendering Rules

Rendering should fail loudly when something is wrong:

• Missing report.
• Missing saved layout.
• Unknown parameter.
• Missing required parameter.
• Invalid parameter type.
• Invalid period range.
• Template/schema mismatch.
• Unsupported export format.

Never silently render an unfiltered or mismatched report.

Design Principles

• Prefer the existing Core/Studio/Host split.
• Keep database changes narrow and explicit.
• Keep the endpoint small and deterministic.
• Avoid adding unrelated workflow domains unless explicitly requested.
• Encrypt source passwords at rest, but do not overbuild security for this personal local app.