Connect to Factorial Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

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

Connect to Factorial 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.

Authentication

Factorial uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication to connect to your HR data or to allow other users to connect to their data.

Using OAuth Authentication

To connect using OAuth, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your Factorial admin panel and create a new OAuth application.
2. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret from your application configuration.
3. Configure the following connection properties:

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to your OAuth Client ID.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your OAuth Client Secret.
• Scope: Set this to specify the data access permissions (default: "read write").

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Factorial

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

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