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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/azuredevops-odbc-coldfusion.rst

⇱ Import Real-Time Azure DevOps Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Import Real-Time Azure DevOps Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Azure DevOps data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Azure DevOps, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Azure DevOps data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Azure DevOps data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Azure DevOps and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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 process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

You can connect to your Azure DevOps account by providing the Organization and PersonalAccessToken.

Obtaining a Personal Access Token

A PersonalAccessToken is necessary for account authentication.

To generate one, log in to your Azure DevOps Organization account and navigate to Profile -> Personal Access Tokens -> New Token. The generated token will be displayed.

If you wish to authenticate to Azure DevOps using OAuth refer to the online Help documentation for an authentication guide.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Azure DevOps Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Azure DevOps Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. 👁 Populating driver properties
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataAzure DevOpsODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

     
 <cfquery name="Azure DevOpsQuery" dataSource="CDataAzure DevOpsODBC"> 
 SELECT * FROM Builds 
 </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
     
 <cftable 
 query = "Azure DevOpsQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Id</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Id"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>BuildNumber</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="BuildNumber"/> 

 ...

 </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
     
 <html> 
 <head><title>CData Software | Azure DevOps Builds Table Demo </title></head> 
 <body> 
 <cfoutput>#ucase("Azure DevOps Builds Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
 <cfquery name="Azure DevOpsQuery" dataSource="CDataAzure DevOpsODBC"> 

 SELECT * FROM Builds 

 </cfquery> 
 <cftable 
 query = "Azure DevOpsQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 
 <cfcol header="<b>Id</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Id"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>BuildNumber</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="BuildNumber"/> 

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Azure DevOps data! 👁 Running the code

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Azure DevOps and start building Azure DevOps-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

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Learn more:

👁 Azure DevOps Icon
Azure DevOps ODBC Driver

The Azure DevOps ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Azure DevOps, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Azure DevOps data like you would a database - read, write, and update Azure DevOps Accounts, Approvals, Builds, Tests, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.