Connect to Dropbox Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

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

Connect to Dropbox 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.

Dropbox uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, you can use the embedded credentials or register an app with Dropbox.

See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for more information.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Dropbox

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for Dropbox. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with Dropbox 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 Dropbox 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 Dropbox 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 Dropbox data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

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