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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/mongodb-odbc-rad-data-explorer.rst

⇱ Viewing MongoDB Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer

Viewing MongoDB Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
How to view MongoDB data in RAD Studio Data Explorer using the CData ODBC Driver for MongoDB.

Embarcadero RAD Studio provides a development environment for Delphi and C++Builder applications. With the CData ODBC Driver for MongoDB, you gain access to live MongoDB data within RAD Studio, abstracting the data into tables, views, and stored procedures that can be used to both retrieve and update MongoDB data. This article will walk through connecting to MongoDB using the Data Explorer.

About MongoDB Data Integration

Accessing and integrating live data from MongoDB has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:

MongoDB's flexibility means that it can be used as a transactional, operational, or analytical database. That means CData customers use our solutions to integrate their business data with MongoDB or integrate their MongoDB data with their data warehouse (or both). Customers also leverage our live connectivity options to analyze and report on MongoDB directly from their preferred tools, like Power BI and Tableau.

For more details on MongoDB use case and how CData enhances your MongoDB experience, check out our blog post: The Top 10 Real-World MongoDB Use Cases You Should Know in 2024.


Getting Started


Configure a Connection to MongoDB

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.

Set the Server, Database, User, and Password connection properties to connect to MongoDB. To access MongoDB collections as tables you can use automatic schema discovery or write your own schema definitions. Schemas are defined in .rsd files, which have a simple format. You can also execute free-form queries that are not tied to the schema.

Connecting to MongoDB Data Using Data Explorer

You can create a simple application for displaying MongoDB data by utilizing the CData FireDAC Components for MongoDB and a new VCL Forms Application:

  1. Open the Data Explorer in RAD Studio and expand FireDAC.
  2. Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
  3. Click Add New Connection. 👁 Adding a New Connection. (Salesforce is shown.)
  4. Enter a name for the connection.
  5. In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for MongoDB. 👁 Setting the Connection Parameters. (Salesforce is shown.)
  6. Back in the Data Explorer, expand the tables for the connection.

  7. Create a new VCL Forms application and drag a table (for example: restaurants) onto the form.

    👁 Placing the Table on the Form. (Salesforce is shown.)
  8. Select the restaurantsTable object on the form and set the Active property to true.

  9. Right-click on the object, bind visually, and link everything (*) to a new control (TStringGrid).

    👁 Visually Binding the Table. (Salesforce is shown.)

  10. Arrange the TStringGrid on the form and run the application to see the restaurants data.

    👁 The Table data on a Form. (Salesforce is shown.)

Related Articles

Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the MongoDB ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

👁 MongoDB Icon
MongoDB ODBC Driver

The MongoDB ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live MongoDB document databases, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access MongoDB like you would a database - read, write, and update through a standard ODBC Driver interface.