Connect to Google Search Results from PowerBuilder via ODBC

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

Connect to Google Search 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.

To search with a Google custom search engine, you need to set the CustomSearchId and ApiKey connection properties.

To obtain the CustomSearchId property, sign into Google Custom Search Engine and create a new search engine.

To obtain the ApiKey property, you must enable the Custom Search API in the Google API Console.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Google Search

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for Google Search. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with Google Search results.

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 Google Search 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 Google Search Results 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 Google Search results into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

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