Connect to Avalara AvaTax Data from PowerBuilder via JDBC

The CData JDBC driver for Avalara AvaTax is a standards-based control that can be used from any platform or development technology that supports JDBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax in PowerBuilder.

This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax to perform reads and writes.

Connect to Avalara AvaTax Data from PowerBuilder

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for Avalara AvaTax. You can use a database profile to save connection properties. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.

1. Add the driver JAR to the PowerBuilder classpath. Set the CLASSPATH system environment variable to the path to the driver JAR, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

   Note: If you are using PowerBuilder Classic, you can also add the path to the driver JAR by clicking Tools -> System Options -> Java.

2. Click Tools -> Database Painter.
3. Right-click the JDBC node and click New Profile.
4. In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
   • Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
   • Driver Name: Enter the class name of the driver, cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.AvalaraAvataxDriver
   • URL: Enter the JDBC URL.

     The primary method for performing basic authentication is to provide your login credentials, as follows:

     • User: Set this to your username.
     • Password: Set this to your password.

     Optionally, if you are making use of a sandbox environment, set the following:

     • UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are authenticating with a sandbox account.

     Authenticating Using Account Number and License Key

     Alternatively, you can authenticate using your account number and license key. Connect to data using the following:

     • AccountId: Set this to your Account Id. The Account Id is listed in the upper right hand corner of the admin console.
     • LicenseKey: Set this to your Avalara Avatax license key. You can generate a license key by logging into Avalara Avatax as an account administrator and navigating to Settings -> Reset License Key.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.jar
     

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard. A typical JDBC URL is below:

     jdbc:avalaraavatax:User=MyUser;Password=MyPassword;

   👁 The JDBC data source defined in the Database Profile Setup dialog. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Avalara AvaTax Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to JDBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve Avalara AvaTax data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "JDBC"
SQLCA.AutoCommit = False
SQLCA.DBParm = "Driver='cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.AvalaraAvataxDriver',URL='jdbc:avalaraavatax:User=MyUser;Password=MyPassword;";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_transactions.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_transactions.Retrieve();