Import Real-Time Power BI XMLA Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist

Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Power BI XMLA 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 Power BI XMLA, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Power BI XMLA 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 Power BI XMLA data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Power BI XMLA 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.

By default, use Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) to connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA. Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) is Microsoft's multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to EntraID (formerly AzureAD).

For more information on other authentication schemes, refer to the Help documentation.

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 Power BI XMLA Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
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
From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Power BI XMLA 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
Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataPower BI XMLAODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection

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="Power BI XMLAQuery" dataSource="CDataPower BI XMLAODBC"> 
 SELECT * FROM Customer 
 </cfquery>

And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:

 
 <cftable 
 query = "Power BI XMLAQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 

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

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

 ...

 </cftable>

Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

 
 <html> 
 <head><title>CData Software | Power BI XMLA Customer Table Demo </title></head> 
 <body> 
 <cfoutput>#ucase("Power BI XMLA Customer Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
 <cfquery name="Power BI XMLAQuery" dataSource="CDataPower BI XMLAODBC"> 

 SELECT * FROM Customer 

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

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

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>

Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Power BI XMLA 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 Power BI XMLA and start building Power BI XMLA-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Power BI XMLA ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

👁 Power BI XMLA Icon
Power BI XMLA ODBC Driver

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

Access Power BI XMLA data like you would a database - read, write, and update Power BI XMLA FALSE, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.

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