How to connect to Google Cloud Storage Data in DBVisualizer

The CData JDBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage implements JDBC standards to provide connectivity to Google Cloud Storage data in applications ranging from business intelligence tools to IDEs. This article shows how to establish a connection to Google Cloud Storage data in DBVisualizer and use the table editor to load Google Cloud Storage data.

Create a New Driver Definition for Google Cloud Storage Data

Follow the steps below to use the Driver Manager to provide connectivity to Google Cloud Storage data from DBVisualizer tools.

1. In DBVisualizer, click Tools -> Driver Manager.
2. Click the plus sign "" to create a new driver.
3. Select "Custom" as the template.
4. On the Driver Settings tab:
   • Set Name to a user-friendly name (e.g. "CData Google Cloud Storage Driver")
   • Set URL Format to jdbc:googlecloudstorage: 👁 Setting the Driver Settings (Salesforce is shown).
     
   • In Driver artifacts and jar files (jars are loaded in order from top):
     1. Click the plus sign "" -> "Add Files"
     2. Navigate to the "lib" folder in the installation directory (C:\Program Files\CData JDBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage XXXX\)
     3. Select the JAR file (cdata.jdbc.GoogleCloudStorage.jar) and click "Open"
     👁 Loading the driver JAR file.
     
5. The Driver Class should populate automatically. If not, select class (cdata.jdbc.googlecloudstorage.GoogleCloudStorageDriver).

👁 The configured JDBC driver. (Salesforce is shown.)

Define the Connection to the JDBC Data Source

Close the "Driver Manager" and follow the steps below to save connection properties in the JDBC URL.

1. In the "Databases" tab, click the plus sign "" and select the driver you just created.

2. In the "Connection" section, set the following options:

   • Database Type: If you selected the wizard option, the database type is automatically detected. If you selected the "No Wizard" option, select the Generic or Auto Detect option in the Database Type menu.
   • Driver Type: Select the driver you just created.

   • Database URL: Enter the full JDBC URL. The syntax of the JDBC URL is jdbc:googlecloudstorage: followed by the connection properties in a semicolon-separated list of name-value pairs.

     Authenticate with a User Account

     You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. After setting InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH, you are ready to connect.

     When you connect, the Google Cloud Storage OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions, then the OAuth process completes

     Authenticate with a Service Account

     Service accounts have silent authentication, without user authentication in the browser. You can also use a service account to delegate enterprise-wide access scopes.

     You need to create an OAuth application in this flow. See the Help documentation for more information. After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

     • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH.
     • OAuthJWTCertType: Set this to "PFXFILE".
     • OAuthJWTCert: Set this to the path to the .p12 file you generated.
     • OAuthJWTCertPassword: Set this to the password of the .p12 file.
     • OAuthJWTCertSubject: Set this to "*" to pick the first certificate in the certificate store.
     • OAuthJWTIssuer: In the service accounts section, click Manage Service Accounts and set this field to the email address displayed in the service account Id field.
     • OAuthJWTSubject: Set this to your enterprise Id if your subject type is set to "enterprise" or your app user Id if your subject type is set to "user".
     • ProjectId: Set this to the Id of the project you want to connect to.

     The OAuth flow for a service account then completes.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.googlecloudstorage.jar
     

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

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     

     When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

     A typical connection string is below:

     jdbc:googlecloudstorage:ProjectId='project1';InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
     

   • NOTE: Since Google Cloud Storage does not require a User or Password to authenticate, you may use whatever values you wish for Database Userid and Database Password.
3. On the Connection tab, click Connect. 👁 A newly configured Database Connection. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

To browse through tables exposed by the Google Cloud Storage JDBC Driver, right-click a table and click "Open in New Tab."

To execute SQL queries, use the SQL Commander tool: Click SQL Commander -> New SQL Commander. Select the Database Connection, Database, and Schema from the available menus.

See the "Supported SQL" chapter in the help documentation for more information on the supported SQL. See the "Data Model" chapter for table-specific information.

👁 The results of a query in DBVisualizer. (Salesforce is shown.)

More Information & Free Trial

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage and start working with your live Google Cloud Storage data in DbVisualizer. Join the CData Community or reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.