BIRT
BIRT (Business Intelligence Reporting Tools) is an open source, Eclipse-based reporting system that integrates with your application to produce compelling reports for both web and PDF. The current released version is 2.1.0.
http://www.eclipse.org/birt/phoenix/

Crystal Report for Eclipse
The free version of Crystal Report for Eclipse provides an API set that can be used to make required report modifications at runtime and allows developers to design and deploy reports on a single server. The current released version is 1.0.
http://diamond.businessobjects.com/

From my point of view, all reporting tools meet very similar reporting requirements. After testing them in the Eclipse3.2 RC6, I listed several advantages and disadvantages of them respectively as follows:

What do I like BIRT?
1. Open source!

It is a strong attraction for developers.

 

2. Extensibility

You could implement your own driver to support new data source types via Data Engine API. Also it is able to implement a new representation renderer (e.g. Excel) except HTML and PDF via Report Engine API. And you could add your own fields / objects (e.g. Rotated Text) via Design Engine API.

3. Style

You could create a customized style, then apply it to the any objects what you designated.

4. Chart Builder

You can set all the chart properties in a dialog, which is a good attempt to the new users. And “Live preview” with actual data values in the chart builder will reflect the property changes.

5. Page Break

Support page break in every object, that is, section is a property for every object.

6. Javascript

Javascript (BIRT) VS VBscript (Crystal Reports), it’s hardly to figure out which one is better. Anyway, I prefer Javascript J . And BIRT provides a great deal of functions for customizing your reports on runtime.

7. XML report structure

BIRT offers up an open XML report structure, which can be read and modified by an XML reader, or any text editor. But Crystal reports only can be read and modified by Crystal Reports engine.


What do I dislike BIRT?
1. Properties sheet

After setting a property, the extended tree will be folded up. So if you’d like to change several properties at the same time, then you have to extend the tree for several times.

2. Chart errors

If there is an error occurred in the chart builder, the warning message dialog will keep popping up. It’s annoying.

 

3. Multiple selections

It is not able to select irregular cells within a table, also not able to select an image and a table cell at the same time.


What do I like Crystal Report for Eclipse?
1. Free form placement
You could drag and drop your report objects exactly where you want them to show up. It is particularly useful in the multilayer nested table.

2. Auto-generated SQL statements
SQL query is auto-generated based on the database fields added to the report. And the query can be updated automatically when the fields are added or removed.

3. Cross-Tab

4. Multiple data source support
Use the visual database pane to easily create links between multiple data sources.

5. JSP page wizard
 Drag 'n' drop a report onto a JSP page, or create a new JSP page via the context menu of a report. The wizard will generate all of the required code to complete the requested actions.


What do I dislike Crystal Report for Eclipse?

1. Absolute position

It is not good solution for dynamical text. The report engine cannot compute and adjust the size according to the actual length of dynamical text. It will trim the out–bounded text on runtime, if the text box is not defined large enough on design time.

2. User operations

It seems a little bit slowly when dragging something into the layout. Perhaps it is an issue cause by VE.

3. Performance
 The performance is really terrible. I’m not sure whether the situation only occurs in my machine. But it indeed caused my Eclipse down for many times.