Been away from VS for about 6-7 years and just starting digging back in to .NET with VS 2010 this week. I'm writing an app for a client (previously wrote an app for them over 9 years ago with VB 6!) that requires reports. In the past, I would have used Crystal Reports that shipped with VS 2010. Now that it's no longer included, I started checking out the included MS Reports objects and am finding it a bit challenging. I've spent hours searching the web and Amazon for resources on this. I have several C# 2010 books, and none of them mention MS Reports.

Q1?) Is the MS Reports object embedded within VS 2010 Pro the same as MS SQL Server Reporting Services -- in other words, can I purchase a recent book on SSRS and apply it to a stand-a-lone app (using a local .sdf database file for storage and retrieval)?

Q2?) Can someone point me in the direction of a book covering MS Reports included with VS 2010 Pro -- even if it's just a couple chapters in an all encompassing book?

Q3?) Should I skip the MS Reports and download Crystal Reports -- or some other alternative?

I've spent some time writing a couple apps and can display and format columnar data on a report -- however, I'm having issues trying to retrieve data and display it with a bar chart. I'm hitting my head here and need a few good programming examples to get me over the hump.

Much appreciated! Thanks in advance, ---> Kelsey McClanahan