Connect to Adobe Target Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Adobe Target, Denodo users can work with live Adobe Target data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article explains how to create a virtual data source for Adobe Target in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Adobe Target data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Adobe Target, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Adobe Target and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze Adobe Target data using native data types.

Create the Adobe Target Virtual Port

To connect to live Adobe Target data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for Adobe Target installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Adobe Target\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-adobetarget-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC. 👁 Creating a new JDBC data source.
   
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: adobetarget
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-adobetarget-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.adobetarget.AdobeTargetDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:adobetarget:Tenant=mycompanyname;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

     👁 Configuring the JDBC connection (NetSuite is shown).
     

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Adobe Target JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     	java -jar cdata.jdbc.adobetarget.jar
     	

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     To connect to Adobe Target, you must provide the Tenant property along with OAuth connection properties mentioned below. Note that while other connection properties can influence processing behavior, they do not affect the ability to connect.

     To determine your Tenant name:

     1. Log in to Adobe Experience. The URL will look similar to: "https://experience.adobe.com/#/@mycompanyname/preferences/general-section".
     2. Extract the value after the "/#/@". In this example, it is "mycompanyname".
     3. Set the Tenant connection property to that value.

     User Accounts (OAuth)

     You must set AuthScheme to OAuthClient for all user account flows.

     Note: Adobe authentication via OAuth requires updating your token every two weeks.

     All Applications

     CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies OAuth authentication. Alternatively, you can create a custom OAuth application. Review Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation for more information.

     Obtaining the OAuth Access Token

     Set the following properties to connect:

     • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH to automatically perform the OAuth exchange and refresh the OAuthAccessToken as needed.
     • OAuthClientId : Set to the client Id assigned when you registered your app.
     • OAuthClientSecret : Set to the client secret assigned when you registered your app.
     • CallbackURL : Set to the redirect URI defined when you registered your app. For example: https://localhost:3333

     With these settings, the provider obtains an access token from Adobe Target, which it uses to request data. The OAuth values are stored in the location specified by OAuthSettingsLocation, ensuring they persist across connections.

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View Adobe Target Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of Adobe Target data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.AdobeTarget).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import. 👁 Selecting objects to import (NetSuite is shown).
   
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the Adobe Target data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_adobetarget_activities) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_adobetarget_activities CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

   👁 Configuring the query to view the data.
   
7. Click Execute to view the data. 👁 Viewing the data.
   

With the base view created, you can now work with live Adobe Target data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying Adobe Target in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Adobe Target and start working with your live Adobe Target data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.