About the data elements
There are several elements in the ROM specification that apply to data rather than visual report items. These data elements describe data sources, data sets, and rows of data. The following elements are data elements:
DataSource
The DataSource element represents a connection to an external data system, such as an RDBMS, text file, or XML file.
ScriptedDataSource
The ScriptedDataSource element represents a connection to an external data system that is not an ODA data source. The developer must provide scripts for opening and closing a scripted data source. ScriptedDataSource inherits from DataSource.
DataSet
The DataSet element represents a tabular result set retrieved from a data source. A DataSet element defines a query, filters, parameters, and result set columns.
JointDataSet
The JointDataSet element represents a data set that results from a join of several data sets.
ScriptedDataSet
The ScriptedDataSet element represents a data set that is associated with a scripted data source. The developer must provide scripts for opening, closing, and fetching a row from a scripted data source. ScriptedDataSet inherits from DataSet.
Row
The Row element represents an integral set of column values that are a part of a result set.