Eclipse releases open source business intelligence

The open source Eclipse Foundation has released Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (Birt) 1.0, a specification that developers can use to more easily build reporting capabilities into enterprise Java applications. 

Eclipse announced Birt last autumn and a preview version was available for download from February. Birt saves time for developers, who currently have to hand-code reporting and analysis capabilities into applications. 

Birt 1.0 includes Eclipse Report Designer, an Eclipse-based desktop authoring environment; and Eclipse Report Engine, which generates reports using the report object model designs created by Eclipse Report Designer.

There is also a set of APIs for integrating and extending Birt. 

Reporting software supplier Actuate, which led the Eclipse Birt project, has already launched the Actuate Birt solution.

This offering is a bundle of services for developers who adopt the Birt development standard, and includes support and maintenance for an annual subscription.