Build Cvent-Connected Web Apps in Servoy

Servoy is a rapid application development and deployment platform. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Cvent, users can build Cvent-connected apps that work with live Cvent data. This article describes how to connect to Cvent from Servoy and build a simple web app to display and search Cvent data.

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

Connect to Cvent in Servoy Developer

To build Cvent-connected apps, you need to first create a data provider in Servoy Developer using the CData JDBC Driver for Cvent.

1. Install the JDBC Driver.
2. Copy the JDBC Driver JAR file. (cdata.jdbc.cvent.jar) to the /application_server/drivers/ directory in the installation directory for Servoy.
3. Open Servoy Developer.
4. In the Solution Explorer, right-click Database Server (under Resources) and choose "Connect to existing database" -> "empty."
   1. Name the server.
   2. Click to show the advanced server settings.

      • Set the URL, for example: jdbc:cvent:OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

        Built-In Connection String Designer

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

        				java -jar cdata.jdbc.cvent.jar
        				

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

        Before you can authenticate to Cvent, you must create a workspace and an OAuth application.

        Creating a Workspace

        To create a workspace:

        1. Sign into Cvent and navigate to App Switcher (the blue button in the upper right corner of the page) >> Admin.
        2. In the Admin menu, navigate to Integrations >> REST API.
        3. A new tab launches for Developer Management. Click on Manage API Access in the new tab.
        4. Create a Workspace and name it. Select the scopes you would like your developers to have access to. Scopes control what data domains the developer can access.
           • Choose All to allow developers to choose any scope, and any future scopes added to the REST API.
           • Choose Custom to limit the scopes developers can choose for their OAuth apps to selected scopes. To access all tables exposed by the driver, you need to set the following scopes:

             event/attendees:read	event/attendees:write	event/contacts:read
             event/contacts:write	event/custom-fields:read	event/custom-fields:write
             event/events:read	event/events:write	event/sessions:delete
             event/sessions:read	event/sessions:write	event/speakers:delete
             event/speakers:read	event/speakers:write	budget/budget-items:read
             budget/budget-items:write	exhibitor/exhibitors:read	exhibitor/exhibitors:write
             survey/surveys:read	survey/surveys:write

        Creating an OAuth Application

        After you have set up a Workspace and invited them, developers can sign up and create a custom OAuth app. See the Creating a Custom OAuth Application section in the Help documentation for more information.

        Connecting to Cvent

        After creating an OAuth application, set the following connection properties to connect to Cvent:

        • InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
        • OAuthClientId: The Client ID associated with the OAuth application. You can find this on the Applications page in the Cvent Developer Portal.
        • OAuthClientSecret: The Client secret associated with the OAuth application. You can find this on the Applications page in the Cvent Developer Portal.
        👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
        
      • Select the Driver class you just copied, for example, cdata.jdbc.cvent.CventDriver
   👁 Connecting to data through the JDBC Driver (Salesforce is shown).
   

Build a Cvent-Connected Web App

Once you have configured the connection to Cvent in the Servoy Developer resources, you are ready to build apps with access to live Cvent data.

Create a New Solution

1. In the Server Explorer, right-click "All solutions" and select "Create new solution."
2. Name the solution.
3. Select the checkbox to include the "search" module.
4. Click "Finish."

Create a New Form

Right-click "Forms" and select "Create new form."

1. Name the form.
2. Select a Datasource.
3. Set the type (e.g., Simple) and click "Finish."

Add a Data Grid to the Form

1. Drag a Data Grid component (from Servoy NG-Grids) onto the form.

2. Drag a column component onto the Data Grid and set the "dataprovider" property for each column component to a column from the Cvent "table" (e.g., Id from the Events table).

   Continue adding columns as desired.

Add Searching to the App

Note that the "svySearch" extension is required to add search functionality (included by default when you create a new solution). If you did not add the extension when you created the solution or you are modifying an existing solution, you can add the search module by right-clicking Modules (in the solution) and selecting "Add Module." Select "svySearch" and click "OK."

1. Drag a Text Field component onto the Form.
2. Right-click the Form and select "Open in Script Editor."
3. Create a new variable (JavaScript) to hold the search value:

   var searchText = '';
   

4. Back on the Form, in the Text Field properties:
   1. Set the "dataprovider" property to the Form variable you just created.
   2. Double-click to add a method for the onAction event.
   3. Click to create the method in "Form," name the method (e.g., onEnter), and click "Create private."
   4. Click "OK & Show."
5. Add the following JavaScript to the JavaScript file to use the Servoy framework to implement searching bound data based on the text in the Text Field:

   var search = scopes.svySearch.createSimpleSearch(foundset).setSearchText(searchText);
   search.setSearchAllColumns();
   search.loadRecords(foundset);
   

Save and Launch the App

Save the form and JavaScript file, then click Run -> Launch NGClient to start the web app.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Cvent and start building Cvent-connected apps with Servoy. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.