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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/paypal-odbc-coldfusion.rst

⇱ Import Real-Time PayPal Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Import Real-Time PayPal Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use PayPal data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for PayPal, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational PayPal data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with PayPal data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for PayPal and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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 process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The provider surfaces tables from two PayPal APIs. The APIs use different authentication methods.

  • The REST API uses the OAuth standard. To authenticate to the REST API, set the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL properties.
  • The Classic API requires Signature API credentials. To authenticate to the Classic API, obtain an API username, password, and signature.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to obtaining the necessary API credentials.

To select the API you want to work with, you can set the Schema property to REST or SOAP. By default the SOAP schema will be used.

For testing purposes you can set UseSandbox to true and use sandbox credentials.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import PayPal Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData PayPal Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. 👁 Populating driver properties
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataPayPalODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

     
 <cfquery name="PayPalQuery" dataSource="CDataPayPalODBC"> 
 SELECT * FROM Transactions 
 </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
     
 <cftable 
 query = "PayPalQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Date</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Date"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>GrossAmount</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="GrossAmount"/> 

 ...

 </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
     
 <html> 
 <head><title>CData Software | PayPal Transactions Table Demo </title></head> 
 <body> 
 <cfoutput>#ucase("PayPal Transactions Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
 <cfquery name="PayPalQuery" dataSource="CDataPayPalODBC"> 

 SELECT * FROM Transactions 

 </cfquery> 
 <cftable 
 query = "PayPalQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 
 <cfcol header="<b>Date</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Date"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>GrossAmount</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="GrossAmount"/> 

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with PayPal data! 👁 Running the code

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for PayPal and start building PayPal-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

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

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Learn more:

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PayPal ODBC Driver

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

Access PayPal Transactions, Orders, Sales, Invoices, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.