Consume MySQL OData Feeds in PowerBuilder

The CData API Server produces secure feeds of MySQL data that you can consume in PowerBuilder DataWindows. The API Server supports the major Web services, including OData, Atom, JSON, HTML, CSV, TSV, and RSS. It also supports the major authentication schemes and SSL.

This article shows how to create a DataWindow that uses the CData API Server to execute reads and writes.

Set Up the API Server

Follow the steps below to begin producing secure MySQL OData services:

Deploy

The API Server runs on your own server. On Windows, you can deploy using the stand-alone server or IIS. On a Java servlet container, drop in the API Server WAR file. See the help documentation for more information and how-tos.

The API Server is also easy to deploy on Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, and Heroku.

Connect to MySQL

After you deploy the API Server, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to MySQL by clicking Settings -> Connections and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.

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

You can then choose the MySQL entities you want to allow the API Server access to by clicking Settings -> Resources.

Additionally, click Settings -> Server and change the following settings for compatibility with PowerBuilder:

• Default Format: Select XML (Atom) in the menu.
• Default Version: Select 2.0 in the menu.

Authorize API Server Users

After determining the OData services you want to produce, authorize users by clicking Settings -> Users. The API Server uses authtoken-based authentication and supports the major authentication schemes. Access can also be restricted based on IP address; by default, only connections to the local machine are allowed. You can authenticate as well as encrypt connections with SSL.

Create a Profile for MySQL

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile for the OData API of the API Server. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.

1. Click Tools -> Database Painter.
2. Right-click the OData node and click New Profile.
3. In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
   • Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
   • URI: Enter the URL to the OData endpoint of the API Server. This URL will resemble the one below:

     http://MyServer:8080/api.rsc

   • Supply User Id and Password: Click this option to use HTTP Basic authentication. Note that the API Server also supports Windows authentication.
   • User Id: Enter the name of an user in the API Server.
   • Password: Enter the authtoken of an user in the API Server.
   👁 The profile for the OData feed. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

👁 Modify database objects in the Database Painter. (Salesforce is shown.)

Using MySQL Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to OData feeds and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve MySQL data into a DataWindow.

You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODT"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='URI=http://MyServer:8080/api.rsc;UID=MyAPIUser;PWD=MyAuthtoken'";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_orders.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_orders.Retrieve();