Connect to LDAP Objects from PowerBuilder via ODBC

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

Connect to LDAP 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 establish a connection, the following properties under the Authentication section must be provided:

• Valid User and Password credentials (e.g., Domain\BobF or cn=Bob F,ou=Employees,dc=Domain).
• Server information, including the IP or host name of the Server, as well as the Port.

• BaseDN: This will limit the scope of LDAP searches to the height of the distinguished name provided.

  Note: Specifying a narrow BaseDN may greatly increase performance; for example, cn=users,dc=domain will only return results contained within cn=users and its children.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for LDAP

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

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 LDAP 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 LDAP Objects 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 LDAP objects into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

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