Need to enable Oracle Role

Question

Post Author: GaryI
CA Forum: Data Connectivity and SQL
I am using Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 and an Oracle database. From my C# application, I am dynamically setting the location of the database to use in the report with the code fragment seen at the end of this post.
My problem is..... The user I am instructing Crystal to connect with needs to enable an Oracle role before the tables needed to generate the report can be seen. For security reasons, the database administrators do not wish to have this role enabled by default when the user logs on. Crystal is creating a new connection to the database using the server/userid/password information I supply, but the required role is not enabled and therefore the tables for the report are not visible and the report fails.
So.... how do get Crystal reports to see the tables? I can think of two ways.
1) Somehow convince Crystal reports to enable the role when it connects to the database. I have not discovered a way to accomplish this. Is there a way to do this?
2) My application already has a connection to the database with the required role enabled. Now if I could just get Crystal reports to use this database connection instead of creating its own, my problem is solved. But..... I cannot find a way to tell Crystal to use an existing database connection that I pass in. Is there a way to do this?
Or does anybody have more ideas?
The code fragment mentioned above................
            ReportDocument rd = new ReportDocument();
            rd.Load(filename);            foreach (Table t in rd.Database.Tables)            {                TableLogOnInfo inf = t.LogOnInfo;                ConnectionInfo connect = inf.ConnectionInfo;                connect.ServerName = serverName;                connect.DatabaseName = database;                connect.UserID = userID;                connect.Password = pwd;
                t.ApplyLogOnInfo(inf);            }            crystalReportViewer1.ReportSource = rd;

Answer 1

Post Author: Jagan
CA Forum: Data Connectivity and SQL
I think that security/DBAs need to provide a solution but I usually find guidance is required too. e.g. would security allow a new role that only has select access to the tables (or even only to necessary tables) that could be granted to a user by default? Are you using an existing user? Could you use a 'reporting only' user? If a role (even a new, read-only role) can't be defaulted, would the DBAs be prepared to write code that only grants it to the reporting user when it logs on from a recognised production machine and/or from a recognised client? etc. etc.
I think you need to discuss possible solutions with them and see what they will allow/support.