Connect to CouchDB Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for CouchDB can be used from any platform or development technology that supports ODBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to connect to CouchDB data and execute queries from the Database Painter and controls such as the DataWindow.

Connect to CouchDB as an ODBC Data Source

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.

Set the following to connect:

• Url: The Url of your instance. For example: http://localhost:5984
• User The Apache CouchDB user account used to authenticate.
• Password The Apache CouchDB password associated with the authenticating user.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for CouchDB

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for CouchDB. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with CouchDB data.

1. In PowerBuilder, click Tools -> Database Painter.
2. In the Objects window in the Database Painter, right-click the ODBC node and click New Profile.
3. On the Connection tab, enter a name for the profile and select the CouchDB DSN in the Data Source menu. 👁 The ODBC DSN, required to create the Database Profile. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using CouchDB Data with PowerBuilder Controls

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

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODBC"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='DSN=CData ApacheCouchDB Source'"
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_movies.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_movies.Retrieve();