Connect to Epicor Kinetic Data from PowerBuilder via JDBC

The CData JDBC driver for Epicor Kinetic is a standards-based control that can be used from any platform or development technology that supports JDBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Epicor Kinetic in PowerBuilder.

This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for Epicor Kinetic to perform reads and writes.

Connect to Epicor Kinetic Data from PowerBuilder

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for Epicor Kinetic. You can use a database profile to save connection properties. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.

1. Add the driver JAR to the PowerBuilder classpath. Set the CLASSPATH system environment variable to the path to the driver JAR, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

   Note: If you are using PowerBuilder Classic, you can also add the path to the driver JAR by clicking Tools -> System Options -> Java.

2. Click Tools -> Database Painter.
3. Right-click the JDBC node and click New Profile.
4. In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
   • Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
   • Driver Name: Enter the class name of the driver, cdata.jdbc.epicorerp.EpicorERPDriver
   • URL: Enter the JDBC URL.

     To successfully connect to your ERP instance, you must specify the following connection properties:

     • Url:the URL of the server hosting your ERP instance. For example, https://myserver.EpicorSaaS.com
     • ERPInstance: the name of your ERP instance.
     • User: the username of your account.
     • Password: the password of your account.
     • Service: the service you want to retrieve data from. For example, BaqSvc.

     In addition, you may also set the optional connection properties:

     • ApiKey: An optional key that may be required for connection to some services depending on your account configuration.
     • ApiVersion: Defaults to v1. May be set to v2 to use the newer Epicor API.
     • Company: Required if you set the ApiVersion to v2.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.epicorerp.jar
     

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard. A typical JDBC URL is below:

     jdbc:epicorerp:Service=Erp.BO.CustomerSvc;ERPInstance=MyInstance;URL=https://myaccount.epicorsaas.com;User=username;Password=password;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

   👁 The JDBC data source defined in the Database Profile Setup dialog. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Epicor Kinetic Data with PowerBuilder Controls

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

SQLCA.DBMS = "JDBC"
SQLCA.AutoCommit = False
SQLCA.DBParm = "Driver='cdata.jdbc.epicorerp.EpicorERPDriver',URL='jdbc:epicorerp:Service=Erp.BO.CustomerSvc;ERPInstance=MyInstance;URL=https://myaccount.epicorsaas.com;User=username;Password=password;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_customers.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_customers.Retrieve();