Query MySQL Data in ColdFusion

The CData JDBC driver for MySQL seamlessly integrates connectivity to MySQL data with the rapid development tools in ColdFusion. This article shows how to connect to MySQL data in ColdFusion and query MySQL tables.

Create a JDBC Data Source for MySQL in ColdFusion

The JDBC data source enables you to execute SQL from standard ColdFusion tags like cfquery and CFScript like executeQuery.

1. Copy the driver JAR and .lic file from the installation directory onto the ColdFusion classpath. For example, copy the files into C:\MyColdFusionDirectory\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib. Or, open the Java and JVM page in the ColdFusion Administrator and enter the path to the files in the ColdFusion Class Path box.

   The JAR and license for the driver are located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

   Restart the server after this step.

2. Add the driver as a data source:

   From the ColdFusion administrator interface, expand the Data & Services node and click Data Sources. In the Add New Data Source section, enter a name for the data source and select Other in the Driver menu.

   👁 Adding a JDBC data source to ColdFusion. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

3. Populate the driver properties:

   • JDBC URL: Enter connection properties in the JDBC URL. The JDBC URL begins with jdbc:mysql: and is followed by the connection properties in a semicolon-separated list of name=value pairs.

     The CData Provider supports connecting to on-premises and cloud-hosted versions of MySQL such as Amazon RDS for MySQL, Google Cloud SQL for MySQL, Azure Database for MySQL, or Oracle MySQL HeatWave. The Server and Port properties must be set to a MySQL server. If IntegratedSecurity is set to false, then User and Password must be set to valid user credentials. Optionally, Database can be set to connect to a specific database. If not set, tables from all databases will be returned.

     SSH Connectivity for MySQL

     You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with MySQL, whether the instance is hosted on-premises or in supported cloud environments. SSH authentication ensures that access is encrypted (as compared to direct network connections).

     SSH Connections to MySQL in Password Auth Mode

     To connect to MySQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

     • User: MySQL User name
     • Password: MySQL Password
     • Database: MySQL database name
     • Server: MySQL Server name
     • Port: MySQL port number like 3306
     • UserSSH: "true"
     • SSHAuthMode: "Password"
     • SSHPort: SSH Port number
     • SSHServer: SSH Server name
     • SSHUser: SSH User name
     • SSHPassword: SSH Password

     SSH Connections to MySQL in Public Key Auth Mode

     To connect to MySQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

     • User: MySQL User name
     • Password: MySQL Password
     • Database: MySQL database name
     • Server: MySQL Server name
     • Port: MySQL port number like 3306
     • UserSSH: "true"
     • SSHAuthMode: "Public_Key"
     • SSHPort: SSH Port number
     • SSHServer: SSH Server name
     • SSHUser: SSH User name
     • SSHClientCret: the path for the public key certificate file

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.mysql.jar
     

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

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

     A typical JDBC URL is below:

     jdbc:mysql:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=3306;

   • Driver Class: Enter the driver class. The driver class is cdata.jdbc.mysql.MySQLDriver.
   • Driver Name: Enter a user-defined name for the driver.
   • Username: Enter the username used to authenticate.
   • Password: Enter the password used to authenticate.

You can now test the connection by enabling the CData MySQL data source in the Actions column. After reporting a status of OK, the MySQL data source is ready for use.

Execute Queries

The cfquery tag can pass SQL statements to MySQL, including INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.. Use the cfqueryparam tag to create parameterized queries and prevent SQL injection through the query string.

Note: To use the cfquery and cfscript, create a .cfm file. Inside the .cfm file, write the code to execute the query (see below). Place the file directly in the root directory of your web server (e.g., wwwroot in Adobe ColdFusion). Restart the service after placing the file for the changes to take effect.

<cfquery name="MySQLQuery" dataSource="CDataMySQL">
 SELECT * FROM Orders WHERE ShipCountry = <cfqueryparam value="#ShipCountry#" cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar">
</cfquery>
<cfdump var="#MySQLQuery#">

Below is the equivalent in CFScript:

<cfscript>
result = queryExecute(
 "SELECT * FROM Orders WHERE ShipCountry = ?", 
 [
 { value="USA", cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar" }
 ],
 { datasource="CDataMySQL" }
);

writeDump( var= result );
</cfscript> 

You can then make requests to your .cfm like the following:

http://MyServer:8500/query.cfm?ShipCountry=USA