in reply to Format-independent layout
People have tried making widget libraries for multiple output formats. They tend not to do well, because they compromise a lot and are not able to generate exciting enough PDF, HTML, etc. because they don't exploit the format specific features. Depending on how many reports you have, you may find it simpler to just use a templating solution with different templates for each output format. Or if you feel like going on an XML kick, you can do most of this XSL and XSL-FO.