Sorting and filtering is back end or front end process

[Nithin]

Hi,

We are developing Telerik report using the stand-alone designer, so we need to know about how the sorting and filtering are done in Telerik reporting. Is it a backend or frontend process.?

[Silviya]

Hi Nithin,

There are two ways to achieve filtering and sorting:
- client-side: Filters and Sortings are applied to the data set after it is retrieved by the DataSource. It should be avoided for big data. 
- server-side: The recommended approach, i.e. to filter and/or sort data records before they are retrieved by the DataSource component, using the WHERE/ORDER BY clause in the query.
For more information, check Filter DataSource records ("Server side" filtering vs "Client side" filtering) and Ordering Data help articles.


Regards,
Silviya
Progress Telerik

[Nithin]

What does mean by client-side sorting? How can we achieve client-side sorting?  Sorting via Action is this client-side or server-side sorting? Also please provide an example of client-side sorting.

[Nasko]

Hello Nithin,

Client-side when talking about Telerik Reporting means that the data is sorted/filtered by the Reporting engine after it has been retrieved from the data source. This is done by setting a new sorting/filtering rule to the data item:

var sorting1 = new Telerik.Reporting.Sorting();
sorting1.Expression = "=Fields.ProductID";
sorting1.Direction = Telerik.Reporting.SortDirection.Asc;
report1.Sortings.Add(sorting1);

Server-side on the other hand means that the data is sorted by the data source provider and the Reporting engine receives it already sorted. This is best shown when using SQL server and sorting the data on the SQL server by using a ORDER BY clause. Same with filtering and the WHERE clause.

Sorting via action is performed client-side when considering the definition explained above.

Regards,
Nasko
Progress Telerik