Use the CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage, you gain database-like access to live Google Cloud Storage data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for Google Cloud Storage in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time Google Cloud Storage data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Google Cloud Storage data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to Google Cloud Storage, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Google Cloud Storage and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze Google Cloud Storage data in SAS.

Connect to Google Cloud Storage as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Google Cloud Storage follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

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.

When you configure the DSN, 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.

Windows

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.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData GoogleCloudStorage Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage
Description = My Description
ProjectId = 'project1'
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Google Cloud Storage Library in SAS

Connect to Google Cloud Storage in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for Google Cloud Storage.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK. 👁 Creating a library for Google Cloud Storage in SAS.
   

Create a View from a Google Cloud Storage Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live Google Cloud Storage data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK. 👁 Selecting table(s) to visualize.
   
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc. 👁 Selecting columns(s) to visualize and configuring the query.
   
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK. 👁 Create a local view to work with Google Cloud Storage data.
   

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
    create view buckets_view as
    select 
    name, 
    ownerid 
    from 
    odbclib.buckets 
    where 
    Name = 'TestBucket';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize Google Cloud Storage Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Google Cloud Storage data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the Google Cloud Storage Buckets data.

   proc print data=buckets;
    title "Google Cloud Storage Buckets Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Google Cloud Storage data report.
   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the Buckets data.

   proc gchart data=buckets;
    pie name / sumvar=ownerid
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='BucketsChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Google Cloud Storage data chart.