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

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 Cloud Storage, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Google Cloud Storage 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 Cloud Storage data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage 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.

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.

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 Cloud Storage 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 Cloud Storage 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 Cloud StorageODBC 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 Cloud StorageQuery" dataSource="CDataGoogle Cloud StorageODBC"> 
    SELECT * FROM Buckets 
    </cfquery> 
    

   And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:

    
    <cftable 
    query = "Google Cloud StorageQuery" 
    border = "1" 
    colHeaders 
    colSpacing = "2" 
    headerLines = "2" 
    HTMLTable 
    maxRows = "500" 
    startRow = "1"> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>OwnerId</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="OwnerId"/> 
   
    ...
   
    </cftable> 
    

   Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

    
    <html> 
    <head><title>CData Software | Google Cloud Storage Buckets Table Demo </title></head> 
    <body> 
    <cfoutput>#ucase("Google Cloud Storage Buckets Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
    <cfquery name="Google Cloud StorageQuery" dataSource="CDataGoogle Cloud StorageODBC"> 
   
    SELECT * FROM Buckets 
   
    </cfquery> 
    <cftable 
    query = "Google Cloud StorageQuery" 
    border = "1" 
    colHeaders 
    colSpacing = "2" 
    headerLines = "2" 
    HTMLTable 
    maxRows = "500" 
    startRow = "1"> 
    <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>OwnerId</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="OwnerId"/> 
   
    ...
   
    </cftable> 
    </body> 
   
    </html> 
    

6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Google Cloud Storage 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 Cloud Storage and start building Google Cloud Storage-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.