A report contains summarized information from a data source, usually in an end-user-friendly format, such as PDF or Excel, although proprietary reporting tools (usually with built-in design tools) also exist.
A report is a human-readable representation of information from a data source, usually in summarized form (especially if the volume of raw data is large). Typical data sources are database management systems and enterprise resource planning systems.
Reports can be created entirely from code, using a purpose-built reporting tool, or using a hybrid approach, where the reporting tool generates code that can later be adapted.
Report output is usually in a format that is easy for end-users to handle, such as PDF or Microsoft Excel. Complicated reports, or reports created using a proprietary tool, may require the use of a dedicated report viewing application, though.
Many third-party applications for creating and viewing reports exist, both open-source and commercial. For a comprehensive overview, see Wikipedia's list of notable reporting software.
