What’s the difference between a report and a control?

A report and a control are both great ways to present information. However, there are a couple of differences which may help you to decide when to use a report and when to use a control.

Static vs Dynamic

A report or account is any informational work (usually of writing, speech, television, or film) made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form.^[1] –Wikipedia

Wikipedia defines a report as information in a presentable form. Therefore, a report is something that you spend time crafting and make it look very good because the end-user may print or email it.

A user interface control, on the other hand, is dynamic. You and your end-users can interact with a control: move columns, group data, check boxes, edit data, and so much more.

A beautiful report

 Online example here

Here’s an example of how a reports make your data look beautiful. Colors, lines, fonts, etc. The data even shows you master-detail hierarchy. Now let’s compare that with a control.

A powerful control

 Online example here

Here’s an example of the DevExpress ASP.NET GridView that shows master-detail layout. While it doesn’t look as pretty as the predefined report, it is beautiful and perfect for engaging and interactive live usage. We can page through the data, expand/collapse the master-detail rows, sort the data, and so much more.

Reports & Controls, best of both...

If you want to make the best UI and provide a great experience for your end-users, then use DevExpress Reports and Controls together! Don’t compromise.

Use the powerful DevExpress UI controls to build your application interface. Then, you can provide export and printing capabilities by creating custom reports. And everyone wins and lives happily ever after.