DataBind Charts to Adobe Analytics Data

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for Adobe Analytics streamlines the process of binding Adobe Analytics data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between Adobe Analytics data and a chart that dynamically updates. Additionally, the code walk-through section will guide you through the creation of a chart using just 10 lines of code.

Binding Data to a Chart

DataBinding to a Chart consists of three steps: Instantiate the control, configure the data source, and databind.

Configure the Connection and Select Database Objects

To create a chart control and establish a connection to Adobe Analytics, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific Adobe Analytics entities you wish to bind to.

1. In a Windows Forms project, drag and drop a Chart control from the toolbox to the form. In the Data section of the Chart properties, select DataSource and then select Add Project Data Source from the menu. 👁 Add a data source to be bound to the chart.
   
2. In the Data Source Configuration Wizard that appears, select Database -> Dataset.
3. In the Choose Your Data Connection step, click New Connection.

4. In the Add Connection dialog, click Change to select the CData Adobe Analytics Data Source.

   Below is a typical connection string:

   GlobalCompanyId=myGlobalCompanyId; RSID=myRSID; OAuthClientId=myOauthClientId; OauthClientSecret=myOAuthClientSecret; CallbackURL=myCallbackURL;

   Adobe Analytics uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, create an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties. See the "Getting Started" section of the help documentation for a guide.

   Retrieving GlobalCompanyId

   GlobalCompanyId is a required connection property. If you do not know your Global Company ID, you can find it in the request URL for the users/me endpoint on the Swagger UI. After logging into the Swagger UI Url, expand the users endpoint and then click the GET users/me button. Click the Try it out and Execute buttons. Note your Global Company ID shown in the Request URL immediately preceding the users/me endpoint.

   Retrieving Report Suite Id

   Report Suite ID (RSID) is also a required connection property. In the Adobe Analytics UI, navigate to Admin -> Report Suites and you will get a list of your report suites along with their identifiers next to the name.

   After setting the GlobalCompanyId, RSID and OAuth connection properties, you are ready to connect to Adobe Analytics.

   When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   👁 Connection properties for the selected data source in the Add Connection dialog. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. Choose the database objects you want to work with. This example uses the AdsReport table. 👁 Select database objects. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

DataBind

After adding the data source and selecting database objects, you can bind the objects to the chart. This example assigns the x-axis to Page and the y-axis to PageViews.

1. In the Chart properties, click the button in the Series property to open the Series Collection Editor.
2. In the Series properties, select the columns you want for the x- and y-axes: Select columns from the menu in the XValueMember and YValueMember properties.

The chart is now databound to the Adobe Analytics data. Run the chart to display the current data. 👁 The chart, filled with data at run time.

Code Walk-through

DataBinding to Adobe Analytics data requires only a few lines of code and can be completed in three easy steps.

1. Connect to Adobe Analytics.
2. Create the AdobeAnalyticsDataAdapter to execute the query and create a DataSet to be filled with its results.
3. DataBind the result set to the chart.

Below is the complete code:

AdobeAnalyticsConnection conn = new AdobeAnalyticsConnection("GlobalCompanyId=myGlobalCompanyId; RSID=myRSID; OAuthClientId=myOauthClientId; OauthClientSecret=myOAuthClientSecret; CallbackURL=myCallbackURL;");
AdobeAnalyticsCommand comm = new AdobeAnalyticsCommand("SELECT Page, PageViews FROM AdsReport WHERE City = 'Chapel Hill'", conn);
AdobeAnalyticsDataAdapter da = new AdobeAnalyticsDataAdapter(comm);
DataSet dataset = new DataSet();
da.Fill(dataset);

chart1.DataSource = dataset; 
chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "Page";
chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "PageViews";
// Insert code for additional chart formatting here.
chart1.DataBind();