Connect to Exact Online Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

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

Connect to Exact Online 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.

Exact Online uses the OAuth authentication standard. You can use the embedded OAuth credentials or you can register an OAuth app with Exact to obtain your own. In addition to the OAuth values, provide the Region. If Division is not set, the default Division is determined.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for more information.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Exact Online

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

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