Mendix, developed by Siemens, is a low-code platform used to rapidly develop, test, and deploy web and mobile applications, facilitating digital transformation and enhancing business agility. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for PingOne, you can use your PingOne data to create various applications using Mendix Studio Pro.
With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC driver offers
unmatched performance for interacting with live PingOne data. When you issue
complex SQL queries to PingOne, the driver pushes supported SQL operations,
like filters and aggregations, directly to PingOne and utilizes the embedded
SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions
and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work
with and analyze PingOne data using native data types.
This article shows how you can easily create an application that utilizes PingOne data in Mendix by combining the JDBC interface provided by Mendix with the CData JDBC Driver for PingOne.
Preparing the Mendix environment
In this section, we will explore how to develop an app using Mendix Studio Pro, as previously introduced, with PingOne data. Be sure to install Mendix Studio Pro beforehand.
Install the CData JDBC Driver for PingOne
First, install the CData JDBC Driver for PingOne on the same machine as Mendix. The JDBC Driver will be installed in the following path:
C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for PingOne 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.pingone.jar
Create an application
Now let's start creating the app. First, let's make an app that has the Database Connector available.
- Launch Mendix Studio Pro and click 'Create New App.'
👁 Create a new app
- Select the 'Blank Web App' option.
👁 Select the Blank Web App option
- Click 'Use this starting point' to proceed.
👁 Use this starting point
- Create an app with a name of your choice. Also, note down the "Disk location" information, for future reference.
👁 Name the app and note the disk location information
- You have now created a brand-new app.
👁 The app is now created
Add the Database Connector to your application
Next, add the Database Connector module to the app you just created.
- On the top right, click on the Marketplace button.
- Search for Database Connector in the Marketplace search section and select it.
👁 Search for the Database Connector from the marketplace
- Click on Download to download the latest Database Connector.
👁 Download the latest Database Connector
- In the Import Module window, select the Action as Add as a new module.
👁 Add a new module
👁 Module is successfully imported
- If the Database Connector appears on the app screen, you are good to move on to the next steps.
👁 Database connector is ready to be used
Adding the JDBC Driver to Mendix Studio Pro
To use the CData JDBC driver with this Database Connector, you must add the JDBC Driver JAR file to your project.
- In the Mendix project folder you noted earlier, there is a folder named 'userlib.' Place the two files, 'cdata.jdbc.pingone.jar' and 'cdata.jdbc.pingone.lic,' into that folder.
👁 Place the JAR and LIC files in the userlib folder of Mendix
- You can now use the CData JDBC Driver with the Database Connector.
Create a Data Model
Now, let's create an app. We first need to define a data model to load data from the Database Connector and display it on the list screen. Let's create the data model before loading the data.
- Add an Entity to the 'Domain model' of MyFirstModule.
👁 Add an entity
- Enter the entity name and field definitions.
👁 Add the entity name and field definitions
- You can easily configure the data by checking the table definition information through the CData JDBC driver using a tool such as DBeaver.
👁 Check and configure the data using any database administration tool
- Define the entities.
👁 Define the entities
Create a constant for the JDBC URL
Next, create a JDBC URL constant to use with the Database Connector.
- Add 'Constant' to MyFirstModule.
👁 Add a constant
- Add a name to the Constant in the Add Constant window.
👁 Add a name to the constant
Generate a JDBC URL for connecting to PingOne, beginning with jdbc:pingone: followed by a series of semicolon-separated connection string properties.
To connect to PingOne, configure these properties:
- : The region where the data for your PingOne organization is being hosted.
- : The type of authentication to use when connecting to PingOne.
- Either (required when using the default PingOne domain) or , configured as described below.
Configuring WorkerAppEnvironmentId
is the ID of the PingOne environment in which your Worker application resides.
This parameter is used only when the environment is using the default PingOne domain (auth.pingone).
It is configured after you have created the custom OAuth application you will use to authenticate to PingOne, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application in the Help documentation.
First, find the value for this property:
- From the home page of your PingOne organization, move to the navigation sidebar and click Environments.
- Find the environment in which you have created your custom OAuth/Worker application (usually Administrators), and click Manage Environment.
The environment's home page displays.
- In the environment's home page navigation sidebar, click Applications.
- Find your OAuth or Worker application details in the list.
-
Copy the value in the Environment ID field.
It should look similar to:
WorkerAppEnvironmentId='11e96fc7-aa4d-4a60-8196-9acf91424eca'
Now set to the value of the Environment ID field.
Configuring AuthorizationServerURL
is the base URL of the PingOne authorization server for the environment where your application is located.
This property is only used when you have set up a custom domain for the environment, as described in the PingOne platform API documentation.
See Custom Domains.
Authenticating to PingOne with OAuth
PingOne supports both OAuth and OAuthClient authentication.
In addition to performing the configuration steps described above, there are two more steps to complete to support OAuth or OAuthCliet authentication:
- Create and configure a custom OAuth application, as described in Creating a Custom OAuth Application in the Help documentation.
- To ensure that the driver can access the entities in Data Model, confirm that you have configured the correct roles for the admin user/worker application you will be using, as described in Administrator Roles in the Help documentation.
- Set the appropriate properties for the authscheme and authflow of your choice, as described in the following subsections.
OAuth (Authorization Code grant)
Set to OAuth.
Desktop Applications
Get and Refresh the OAuth Access Token
After setting the following, you are ready to connect:
- : GETANDREFRESH. To avoid the need to repeat the OAuth exchange and manually setting the each time you connect, use .
- : The Client ID you obtained when you created your custom OAuth application.
- : The Client Secret you obtained when you created your custom OAuth application.
- : The redirect URI you defined when you registered your custom OAuth application. For example: https://localhost:3333
When you connect, the driver opens PingOne's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.
The driver then completes the OAuth process:
- The driver obtains an access token from PingOne and uses it to request data.
- The OAuth values are saved in the location specified in , to be persisted across connections.
The driver refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.
For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications, Headless Machines, or Client Credentials Grant, refer to the Help documentation.
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the PingOne JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.pingone.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:pingone:AuthScheme=OAuth;WorkerAppEnvironmentId=eebc33a8-xxxx-4f3a-yyyy-d3e5262fd49e;Region=NA;OAuthClientId=client_id;OAuthClientSecret=client_secret;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
- Specify the connection string copied from the previous step in the Default value section and click on OK.
👁 Provide the connection string
Create a microflow to retrieve PingOne data
Let's create a microflow that retrieves data from the Database Connector based on the entity we created.
- Click 'Add microflow' from MyFirstModule.
👁 Click on Add microflow
- Create a microflow with any name.
👁 Create a microflow
- First, create an object for the entity you defined earlier. Then, add the 'Create Object' action to the microflow.
👁 Create an object
- Click on the 'Select' button for Entity in the Create Object window.
👁 Click on Select in create object window
- Select a previously defined Entity.
👁 Select the defined entity
- Enter an arbitrary Object name and click OK.
👁 Enter an object name
- Next, add an Execute Query action to the microflow to retrieve data from the Database Connector.
👁 Add an execute query action
- Define each input in the Execute Query window.
👁 Define each inputs for execute query
- In "jdbc url", specify the constant you defined beforehand.
👁 Specify the constant defined before
- In SQL, write a query to retrieve data from PingOne.
👁 Write a query to retrieve the data
- You don't need a Username or Password this time, so set them to 'empty' and assign the object created in the previous flow as the Result object. Then, simply specify any name you prefer for the List in the List Name section.
👁 Add any name to the list
- Finally, define the output of the microflow.
👁 Define the output of the microflow
- Double-click the End Event to open it, select 'List' from the Type dropdown, and link it to the Entity you defined earlier. Then, set the output result of Execute Query as the Return value.
👁 Link list to the entity
- This completes the microflow that retrieves data from PingOne.
👁 Microflow creation is complete
Create a list screen and link it to a microflow
Finally, let's create a screen that displays the results obtained from the microflow.
- Double-click 'Home_web' inside the Toolbox menu to open it.
👁 Open Home_web from toolbox menu
- Drag and drop a Data grid template from the Data containers section into the list screen.
👁 Drag and drop data grid template into the list screen
- Once you have placed the Data grid, double-click on it to display the Edit Data Grid settings screen.
👁 Open edit data grid to configure it
- Navigate to the Data source tab and link the data source type with the Microflow.
- Select the microflow you just created.
👁 Select the microflow
- Now click OK.
👁 Approve the microflow configuration
- When you click OK, you'll be prompted to auto-detect columns. Simply click 'Yes' to proceed.
👁 Click Yes for auto-detect columns
- Next, you'll be prompted to generate controllers for various Data grids. Since we won't be configuring the logic for each one this time, click 'No.'
👁 Click No to controllers for data grids
- This will create a simple data grid screen as shown below.
👁 Data grid screen is now created and ready to be used
Try it out
Now let's check if it works properly.
- Click the 'Publish' button to prepare the app you created. Once that's done, click 'View App' to open the app.
👁 Publish the app created
- If you see a list of PingOne data like the one below, you're all set! You've successfully created a PingOne-linked app with low code, without needing to worry about PingOne's API.
👁 See the list of PingOne data on the Mendix app screen
Get Started Today
Download a free 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for PingOne with Mendix, and effortlessly create an app that connects to PingOne data.
Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.
