ReGenerator for Laravel

A quick report generator for Laravel based on SQL queries.

This is a tool intended for site/app admins that need to quickly create decent looking reports for display or export using only SQL select statements and a few parameters. Uses Bootstrap 3/4 classes for formatting, but can also output to an array if you need to customize the final look.

This package does not include a GUI for managing the reports. Please check out ReGenerator for Backpack if you need to edit reports from the admin interface.

Should work on any version of Laravel above 5.6, but was only tested on v8.

ReGenerator for Laravel

Installation

Require the package via Composer:

composer require md0/reportgenerator

Run the database migrations:

php artisan migrate

Optional

Publish the assets (only needed for charts):

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="MD0\ReGenerator\ReGeneratorServiceProvider" --tag="assets"

Publish the configuration file (to modify the default settings for new reports):

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="MD0\ReGenerator\ReGeneratorServiceProvider" --tag="config"

Publish the views (to modify the chart options and/or PDF headers):

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="MD0\ReGenerator\ReGeneratorServiceProvider" --tag="views"

Publish the language files. There are only three translatable strings (for the aggregate functions) so you can either edit them inside resources/lang/vendor/regenerator folder or just add them to your main translation file.

provider="MD0\ReGenerator\ReGeneratorServiceProvider" --tag="lang"

Usage

To use ReGenerator you can either:

use the class dinamically

use MD0\ReGenerator\Report;
class MyClass {
function report() {
	$report = new Report;
	$myReport = $report->setReport('my_report')->getHtml();
	}
}

use the Report facade

use MD0\ReGenerator\Facades\Report;
class MyClass {
	function report() {
		Report::setReport('my_report')->getHtml();
	}
}

Getting started

To get started, all you need is access to the table/tables from which you need to extract the raports and your actual select statement:

Report::set('query', 'select name, email from users')->getHtml();

This will generate an ad-hoc (on the fly) report. To create a permanent report using a default set of options use the create method:

Report::create('my_report', 'select name, email from users')->getHtml();

This will add a new report to the database and generate it in HTML form. You may then include it as a variable anywhere on your view.

To access a previously created report you need to use the setReport method and (optionally) set any custom preferences before generating it:

Report::setReport('my_report')
		->set('pdfPageSize', 'letter')
		->set('pdfPageOrientation', 'landscape')
		->getPdf();

To make any customization permanent use the update method:

Report::setReport('my_report')->update('PdfPageSize', 'letter');

Check the next section for a complete list of methods and properties that you can use with ReGenerator.

Reference

Properties

Each report can have one or more associated properties that can be set at runtime or commited to the database:

name [mandatory for saving]: a uniqe name for the report. Only alphanumeric characters, dashes or underscores.
query [mandatory]: SQL query used to generate the report. Use standard blade markup ({{ }}) to include parameters if neccessary.
database: database name as defined in Laravel. Leave empty for default. Make sure to use the Laravel defined name and not the actual database name.
title: A descriptive title for the report. Can also have substitutable content (parameters).
reportType: the type of report to generate. Defaults to vertical (classic), use horizontal for pivoted reports (columns on rows), or slices for individual records.
tag: tag for grouping reports into collections. Leave empty if not needed.
numericCols: comma separated list of column numbers that contain numeric values.
thousandsSeparator: character used as thousands separator. Defaults to dot.
decimalsSeparator: character used as decimals separator. Defaults to comma.
countCols: comma separated list of column numbers that will feature a count total.
sumCols: comma separated list of column numbers that will feature a sum aggregate.
averageCols: comma separated list of column numbers that will feature a average aggregate.
pdfPageSize: as used by DomPdf, defaults to A4.
pdfPageOrientation: pdf page orientation, portrait or landscape.
pdfFontSize: pdf font size. In points, defaults to 10.
pdfTemplate: custom view to be used for wrapping the PDF report. Leave empty to use the default.
csvQuotes: type of quotes for enclosing CSV fields. Defaults to none.
csvDelimiter: CSV field delimiter. Usually comma or semicolon, defaults to comma.
chartType: the type of chart that will be generated. Choose between lines, bars and pie. Defaults to lines.
chartSeries: comma separated list of columns that hold the chart series.
chartLabels: column number that holds the chart labels.
chartColors: comma separated list of hex color codes to be used in chart.
chartTemplate: custom view to be used for the generated chart. Leave empty to use the default.
parameters: strings to be substituted in SQL queries. In the example below the {{condition1}} and {{condition2}} strings will be replaced in the SQL query.

$validParameters = [
    'condition1' => 'where active=1',
    'condition2' => 'and verified=1',
];

Methods

setReport(string $name): object | bool

Sets the active report.

name - the name of the report.

set(string $property, string $value): object

Sets a property for the current report. Can be used with stored reports (after setReport()) or chained with itself to generate ad-hoc reports.

property - report property to match;
value - value to assign to the property.

getValue(int $line, int $column): string | bool

Returns a specific value from a report, useful when you have fixed size (x/y) reports.

line - the line in the report;
column - the column in the report.

getArray(): string

Returns the current report as associative array. Must be called after setReport() or set().

getHtml(): string

Returns the current report as HTML formatted using Bootstrap classes. Must be called after setReport() or set().

getPdf(): string

Returns the current report as a PDF file within a variable. Must be called after setReport() or set(). To display or download the PDF file set the Content-Type and Content-Disposition header directives:

return response()->make($pdfReport, 200, [
	'Content-Type' => 'application/pdf',
	'Content-Disposition' => 'inline; filename="test.pdf"',
]);

getChart(): string

Returns the current report as canvas Chart, ready to be inserted into any view. Must be called after setReport() or set().

getReports([string $property], [string $value]): array | bool

Returns an array containing all the reports matching a set criteria. If no property is provided the method returns a list of all available reports.

property - property to match;
value - specific value for the property to filter reports on.

create(string $name, string $query, [string $database], [array $parameters]): object | bool

Creates a new report entry in the database.

name - a unique name for the report;
query - the complete SQL query to be executed; if parameters are present the 4th argument must also be supplied;
database - the Laravel name of an alternative database to run the query against;
parameters - array containing a list of parameter names and values to substituted inside the SQL query prior to execution.

 update(string | array $data, [string $value]): object | bool

Updates a report. Must be called after the setReport() method.

data - can be either a single property of the report or an array containing property - value pairs;
value - the value associated with a single property. Not needed for bulk updates.

delete(): bool

Deletes a report. Must be called after the setReport() method.

Overwriting

Changinng the default parameters

To change the default parameters for new reports publish the config file as described above and adjust the defaults array to your liking.

Customizing the PDF layout

To overwrite the default PDF page layout (to add a logo, etc.), publish the views and edit views/vendor/md0/regenerator/pdf/report.blade.php to suit your needs. If you need multiple templates create your own views and point to them with the pdfTemplate property.

Customizing the chart options

Use if you need to tweak Chart.js's settings publish the views and edit views/vendor/md0/regenerator/chart/report.blade.php. If you need multiple templates create your own views and point to them with the chartTemplate property.

Errors & Suggestions

Please send your improvement suggestions or report bugs / errors in the Issues section.

License

Distributed under the GPL-3.0 License. See LICENSE for more information.

Acknowledgements

ReGenerator uses the following open source libraries to generate raports. Please consult their respective pages for more information on usage and available customizations:

md0-code/regenerator