In the development world, we often come across urgent demands that require fast and effective solutions. Recently, we faced a challenge where we needed to generate customized reports for clients in a dynamic and automated way. The solution adopted was the use of Node.js with Puppeteer, a powerful Chromium-based engine for rendering and automating web pages.

Aqui está a versão traduzida para o inglês:

How We Implemented the Solution

1. Structuring the Templates

To ensure a well-structured and standardized visual layout, we created static HTML and CSS templates, applying refined styling for a professional result. We defined strategic classes and IDs for elements that would be dynamically manipulated to include data when generating the report.

2. Dynamic Data Handling

We identified the template areas that needed to be filled with dynamic information, such as tables, titles, and values. We used fixed variables for common elements and inserted specific IDs to facilitate data replacement at runtime.

3. Development of Controllers and Services

We created controllers and services in the backend to expose endpoints that process data and generate reports on demand. When a request is received, the service loads the static template, inserts dynamic data, and prepares the final document for rendering.

4. Rendering with Puppeteer

Puppeteer comes into play by opening the HTML template inside a headless Chromium browser. This way, the page is loaded with all the programmatically inserted data, allowing us to generate the final document exactly as it would appear in the browser.

5. PDF Conversion

To better serve clients, we incorporated automatic conversion of reports to PDF, configuring margins, spacing, headers, footers, page orientation, and page numbering, ensuring a well-structured final document.

Solution Benefits

Even though not all best practices were followed, this approach was highly effective and brought several benefits:

✅ Speed – The solution was implemented quickly, meeting the client’s urgency.
✅ Efficiency – The system generated high-quality documents without requiring additional software.
✅ Client Satisfaction – The client’s request was fulfilled within the deadline.
✅ Advanced Customization – Puppeteer allowed fine control over the document, including precise formatting and advanced layout options.

Best Practices for Future Implementations

Although this approach was effective, there is always room for improvement. Some best practices for future versions include:

Using Template Engines – Tools like Handlebars or EJS can simplify dynamic HTML generation.
Separating Responsibilities – Keeping business logic decoupled from report rendering.
Queue Management – Using RabbitMQ or Bull to handle background processing.
Monitoring and Logging – Implementing detailed logs to track document generation and potential errors.

Conclusion

Using Node.js with Puppeteer was a great choice for generating reports quickly and efficiently. The solution not only met the immediate need but also established a foundation that can be improved over time.

If you need to generate dynamic reports, consider this approach and explore ways to refine it to make your solution even more robust and scalable!

Generating Reports with Puppeteer: A Quick and Efficient Solution