Import Real-Time HubDB Data via JDBC 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 JDBC Driver for HubDB, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational HubDB data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the JDBC driver to create a table populated with HubDB data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live HubDB data. When you issue complex SQL queries to HubDB, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to HubDB and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze HubDB data using native data types.

Configuring the Connection to HubDB

You will need a JDBC connection string to establish a connection between Coldfusion and HubDB.

There are two authentication methods available for connecting to HubDB data source: OAuth Authentication with a public HubSpot application and authentication with a Private application token.

Using a Custom OAuth App

AuthScheme must be set to "OAuth" in all OAuth flows. Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

Follow the steps below to register an application and obtain the OAuth client credentials:

1. Log into your HubSpot app developer account.
   • Note that it must be an app developer account. Standard HubSpot accounts cannot create public apps.
2. On the developer account home page, click the Apps tab.
3. Click Create app.
4. On the App info tab, enter and optionally modify values that are displayed to users when they connect. These values include the public application name, application logo, and a description of the application.
5. On the Auth tab, supply a callback URL in the "Redirect URLs" box.
   • If you're creating a desktop application, set this to a locally accessible URL like http://localhost:33333.
   • If you are creating a Web application, set this to a trusted URL where you want users to be redirected to when they authorize your application.
6. Click Create App. HubSpot then generates the application, along with its associated credentials.
7. On the Auth tab, note the Client ID and Client secret. You will use these later to configure the driver.

8. Under Scopes, select any scopes you need for your application's intended functionality.

   A minimum of the following scopes is required to access tables:

   • hubdb
   • oauth
   • crm.objects.owners.read
9. Click Save changes.
10. Install the application into a production portal with access to the features that are required by the integration.
    • Under "Install URL (OAuth)", click Copy full URL to copy the installation URL for your application.
    • Navigate to the copied link in your browser. Select a standard account in which to install the application.
    • Click Connect app. You can close the resulting tab.

Using a Private App

To connect using a HubSpot private application token, set the AuthScheme property to "PrivateApp."

You can generate a private application token by following the steps below:

1. In your HubDB account, click the settings icon (the gear) in the main navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Integrations > Private Apps.
3. Click Create private app.
4. On the Basic Info tab, configure the details of your application (name, logo, and description).
5. On the Scopes tab, select Read or Write for each scope you want your private application to be able to access.
6. A minimum of hubdb and crm.objects.owners.read is required to access tables.
7. After you are done configuring your application, click Create app in the top right.
8. Review the info about your application's access token, click Continue creating, and then Show token.
9. Click Copy to copy the private application token.

To connect, set PrivateAppToken to the private application token you retrieved.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.hubdb.jar

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

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After configuring the connection, follow the steps below to add the CData JDBC Driver to ColdFusion's lib directory, add a new data source, test the connection, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, make a real-time connection with HubDB data and display it in a table written in the ColdFusion Markup Language, or CFML:

1. Copy the JDBC Driver for HubDB and lic file from "C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib" to "C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib".

    cdata.jdbc.hubdb.jar
    cdata.jdbc.hubdb.lic
    

   Note: If you do not copy the .lic file with the jar, you will see a licensing error that indicates you do not have a valid license installed. This is true for both the trial and full versions.

2. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
   
3. Here, we can "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our JDBC driver, choose "other", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
   
4. Next, populate the driver properties.
   • JDBC URL will need to be in the format: jdbc:hubdb:|connectionString|.
   • A typical connection string looks like this:

     jdbc:hubdb:AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientID=MyOAuthClientID;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

   • The Driver Class is: cdata.jdbc.hubdb.HubDBDriver
   • The Driver Name is arbitrary and simply used to recognize the data source in the ColdFusion administration console.
   👁 Populating driver properties
   
5. Now, test the connection by clicking the check mark to the left of the CDataHubDBJDBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection
   
6. 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="HubDBQuery" dataSource="CDataHubDBJDBC"> 
    SELECT * FROM NorthwindProducts 
    </cfquery> 
    

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

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

   Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

    
    <html> 
    <head><title>CData Software | HubDB NorthwindProducts Table Demo </title></head> 
    <body> 
    <cfoutput>#ucase("HubDB NorthwindProducts Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
    <cfquery name="HubDBQuery" dataSource="CDataHubDBJDBC"> 
   
    SELECT * FROM NorthwindProducts 
   
    </cfquery> 
    <cftable 
    query = "HubDBQuery" 
    border = "1" 
    colHeaders 
    colSpacing = "2" 
    headerLines = "2" 
    HTMLTable 
    maxRows = "500" 
    startRow = "1"> 
    <cfcol header="<b>PartitionKey</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="PartitionKey"/> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Name"/> 
   
    ...
   
    </cftable> 
    </body> 
   
    </html> 
    

7. Finally, run the code locally in a browser at the default port of 8500. It produces a table populated with HubDB data! 👁 Running the code
   

As a note, the CData JDBC 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 JDBC Driver for HubDB and start building HubDB-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.