- Defining the name and type of the data set.
- Describing what data to retrieve.
For JDBC data sources that use a SQL SELECT query or stored procedure, you define the query or procedure. For data sources that use files or URLs, such as XML or flat-file data sources, you provide a URL or file location and map the data into a relational structure of tables and columns.
- Defining any computed fields that you want to use in the data set.
- Defining filters to limit the data that the data set returns to the report.
- Defining parameters to specify at run time the data to retrieve from the data source.