Build a Simple VCL Application for Azure Data Catalog Data

Embarcadero RAD Studio provides a development environment for Delphi and C++Builder applications. With the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog, you gain access to live Azure Data Catalog data within RAD Studio, abstracting the data into tables, views, and stored procedures that can be used to retrieve Azure Data Catalog data. This article will walk through connecting to Azure Data Catalog and creating a simple VCL application with the Form Designer.

Create a Connection to Azure Data Catalog Data

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

You can optionally set the following to read the different catalog data returned from Azure Data Catalog.

<>CatalogName: Set this to the CatalogName associated with your Azure Data Catalog. To get your Catalog name, navigate to your Azure Portal home page > Data Catalog > Catalog Name

Connect Using OAuth Authentication

You must use OAuth to authenticate with Azure Data Catalog. OAuth requires the authenticating user to interact with Azure Data Catalog using the browser. For more information, refer to the OAuth section in the help documentation.

You can then follow the steps below to use the Data Explorer to create a FireDAC connection to Azure Data Catalog data.

1. In a new VCL Forms application, expand the FireDAC node in the Data Explorer.
2. Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
3. Click Add New Connection.
4. Enter a name for the connection.
5. In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for Azure Data Catalog.

Create VCL Applications with Connectivity to Azure Data Catalog Data

Follow the procedure below to start executing queries to Azure Data Catalog data from a simple VCL application that displays the results of a query in a grid.

1. Drop a TFDConnection component onto the form and set the following properties:

   • ConnectionDefName: Select the FireDAC connection to Azure Data Catalog data.
   • Connected: Select True from the menu and, in the dialog that appears, enter your credentials.

2. Drop a TFDQuery component onto the form and set the properties below:

   • Connection: Set this property to the TFDConnection component, if this component is not already specified.

   • SQL: Click the button in the SQL property and enter a query. For example:

     SELECT DslAddressDatabase, Type FROM Tables WHERE Name = 'FactProductInventory'
     

   • Active: Set this property to true.

3. Drop a TDataSource component onto the form and set the following property:

   • DataSet: In the menu for this property, select the name of the TFDQuery component.

4. Drop a TDBGrid control onto the form and set the following property:

   • DataSource: Select the name of the TDataSource.
5. Drop a TFDGUIxWaitCursor onto the form — this is required to avoid a run-time error.

You now have an executable application that displays the results of the SQL Query set in the TFDQuery object.

Related Articles

Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.

• DataBind Controls to Azure Data Catalog Data in C++Builder
• DataBind Controls to Azure Data Catalog Data in Delphi
• Viewing Azure Data Catalog Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer