Access SharePoint Excel Services Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver

The CData JDBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services connects SharePoint Excel Services data to Mule applications enabling read , write, update, and delete functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze SharePoint Excel Services data.

This article demonstrates how to use the CData JDBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for SharePoint Excel Services data. The application created allows you to request SharePoint Excel Services data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the hundreds of available data sources.

1. Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
2. Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
3. Configure the address for the HTTP Connector. 👁 Add and Configure the HTTP Connector
   
4. Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
5. Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
   • Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
   • Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.excelservices.jar). 👁 Adding the JAR file (Salesforce is shown).
     
   • Set the URL to the connection string for SharePoint Excel Services

     The URL, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid credentials for SharePoint Online, SharePoint 2010, or SharePoint 2013. Additionally, the Library property must be set to a valid SharePoint Document Library and the File property must be set to a valid .xlsx file in the indicated Library.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     		java -jar cdata.jdbc.excelservices.jar
     		

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

   • Set the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.excelservices.ExcelServicesDriver. 👁 A configured Database Connection (Salesforce is shown).
     
   • Click Test Connection.
6. Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request SharePoint Excel Services data. For example:

   SELECT Name, AnnualRevenue FROM Account

   👁 Configure the Select object (Salesforce is Shown)
   
7. Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
8. Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:

   %dw 2.0
   output application/json
   ---
   payload
    

   👁 Add the Transform Message Component to the Flow
   
9. To view your SharePoint Excel Services data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The SharePoint Excel Services data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.

At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with SharePoint Excel Services data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.