JasperReports With ApEx

I have recently become a fan of Oracle ApEx (Application Express). In my career I've moved between many environments, Pascal, Delphi, Java, JEE, Jxxx technolgies. It was'nt until recently when I discovered ApEx and I don't think the same ever since.

A long story short, I tend to think ApEx-first nowadays. still coming from Java world, you can never let go completely to the vast chest of tricks, tools and libraries. I find myself going back to JAVA every now and then for a hard-core task; which conceptually can be done in PL/SQL but hey; Java is an addiction.

One such example is the common need to present data-centric application users' with a printable report.

I know APEX approach to Apache-FOP but I happen to prefer a mature round-trip product stack like that of JasperReports.

JasperReports N.E.V.E.R. fail me, I can bet on its scalability, performance and features. but how do we integrate JasperReport as a tool into Apex Applications.

I came to know about one method that I wouldn't have though of here. still as I commented below in the same post, life can be "Alot" easier if you're like me with a long java background.