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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/ganalytics-odbc-coldfusion.rst

⇱ Import Real-Time Google Analytics Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Import Real-Time Google Analytics Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Google Analytics data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Google Analytics, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Google Analytics data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Google Analytics data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Google Analytics and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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 process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Google uses the OAuth authentication standard. To access Google APIs on behalf on individual users, you can use the embedded credentials or you can register your own OAuth app.

OAuth also enables you to use a service account to connect on behalf of users in a Google Apps domain. To authenticate with a service account, register an application to obtain the OAuth JWT values.

In addition to the OAuth values, set Profile to the profile you want to connect to. This can be set to either the Id or website URL for the Profile. If not specified, the first Profile returned will be used.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Google Analytics Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Google Analytics Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. 👁 Populating driver properties
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataGoogle AnalyticsODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

     
 <cfquery name="Google AnalyticsQuery" dataSource="CDataGoogle AnalyticsODBC"> 
 SELECT * FROM Traffic 
 </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
     
 <cftable 
 query = "Google AnalyticsQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Browser</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Browser"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Sessions</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Sessions"/> 

 ...

 </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
     
 <html> 
 <head><title>CData Software | Google Analytics Traffic Table Demo </title></head> 
 <body> 
 <cfoutput>#ucase("Google Analytics Traffic Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
 <cfquery name="Google AnalyticsQuery" dataSource="CDataGoogle AnalyticsODBC"> 

 SELECT * FROM Traffic 

 </cfquery> 
 <cftable 
 query = "Google AnalyticsQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 
 <cfcol header="<b>Browser</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Browser"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Sessions</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Sessions"/> 

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Google Analytics data! 👁 Running the code

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Google Analytics and start building Google Analytics-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

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Google Analytics ODBC Driver

The Google Analytics ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Google Analytics, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Google Analytics data like you would a database - access all kinds of real-time site traffic and analysis data through a standard ODBC Driver interface.