Build Kintone-Connected Web Apps in Servoy

Servoy is a rapid application development and deployment platform. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Kintone, users can build Kintone-connected apps that work with live Kintone data. This article describes how to connect to Kintone from Servoy and build a simple web app to display and search Kintone data.

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

Connect to Kintone in Servoy Developer

To build Kintone-connected apps, you need to first create a data provider in Servoy Developer using the CData JDBC Driver for Kintone.

1. Install the JDBC Driver.
2. Copy the JDBC Driver JAR file. (cdata.jdbc.kintone.jar) to the /application_server/drivers/ directory in the installation directory for Servoy.
3. Open Servoy Developer.
4. In the Solution Explorer, right-click Database Server (under Resources) and choose "Connect to existing database" -> "empty."
   1. Name the server.
   2. Click to show the advanced server settings.

      • Set the URL, for example: jdbc:kintone:User=myuseraccount;Password=mypassword;Url=http://subdomain.domain.com;GuestSpaceId=myspaceid

        Built-In Connection String Designer

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

        				java -jar cdata.jdbc.kintone.jar
        				

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

        In addition to the authentication values, set the following parameters to connect to and retrieve data from Kintone:

        • Url: The URL of your account.
        • GuestSpaceId: Optional. Set this when using a guest space.

        Authenticating with Kintone

        Kintone supports the following authentication methods.

        Using Password Authentication

        You must set the following to authenticate:

        • User: The username of your account.
        • Password: The password of your account.

        Using Basic Authentication

        If the basic authentication security feature is set on the domain, supply the additional login credentials with BasicAuthUser and BasicAuthPassword. Basic authentication requires these credentials in addition to User and Password.

        Using Client SSL

        Instead of basic authentication, you can specify a client certificate to authenticate. Set SSLClientCert, SSLClientCertType, SSLClientCertSubject, and SSLClientCertPassword. Additionally, set User and Password to your login credentials.

        👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
        
      • Select the Driver class you just copied, for example, cdata.jdbc.kintone.KintoneDriver
   👁 Connecting to data through the JDBC Driver (Salesforce is shown).
   

Build a Kintone-Connected Web App

Once you have configured the connection to Kintone in the Servoy Developer resources, you are ready to build apps with access to live Kintone data.

Create a New Solution

1. In the Server Explorer, right-click "All solutions" and select "Create new solution."
2. Name the solution.
3. Select the checkbox to include the "search" module.
4. Click "Finish."

Create a New Form

Right-click "Forms" and select "Create new form."

1. Name the form.
2. Select a Datasource.
3. Set the type (e.g., Simple) and click "Finish."

Add a Data Grid to the Form

1. Drag a Data Grid component (from Servoy NG-Grids) onto the form.

2. Drag a column component onto the Data Grid and set the "dataprovider" property for each column component to a column from the Kintone "table" (e.g., CreatorName from the Comments table).

   Continue adding columns as desired.

Add Searching to the App

Note that the "svySearch" extension is required to add search functionality (included by default when you create a new solution). If you did not add the extension when you created the solution or you are modifying an existing solution, you can add the search module by right-clicking Modules (in the solution) and selecting "Add Module." Select "svySearch" and click "OK."

1. Drag a Text Field component onto the Form.
2. Right-click the Form and select "Open in Script Editor."
3. Create a new variable (JavaScript) to hold the search value:

   var searchText = '';
   

4. Back on the Form, in the Text Field properties:
   1. Set the "dataprovider" property to the Form variable you just created.
   2. Double-click to add a method for the onAction event.
   3. Click to create the method in "Form," name the method (e.g., onEnter), and click "Create private."
   4. Click "OK & Show."
5. Add the following JavaScript to the JavaScript file to use the Servoy framework to implement searching bound data based on the text in the Text Field:

   var search = scopes.svySearch.createSimpleSearch(foundset).setSearchText(searchText);
   search.setSearchAllColumns();
   search.loadRecords(foundset);
   

Save and Launch the App

Save the form and JavaScript file, then click Run -> Launch NGClient to start the web app.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Kintone and start building Kintone-connected apps with Servoy. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.