DataBind Charts to SAP Ariba Procurement Data

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for SAP Ariba Procurement streamlines the process of binding SAP Ariba Procurement data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between SAP Ariba Procurement data and a chart that dynamically updates. Additionally, the code walk-through section will guide you through the creation of a chart using just 10 lines of code.

Binding Data to a Chart

DataBinding to a Chart consists of three steps: Instantiate the control, configure the data source, and databind.

Configure the Connection and Select Database Objects

To create a chart control and establish a connection to SAP Ariba Procurement, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific SAP Ariba Procurement entities you wish to bind to.

1. In a Windows Forms project, drag and drop a Chart control from the toolbox to the form. In the Data section of the Chart properties, select DataSource and then select Add Project Data Source from the menu. 👁 Add a data source to be bound to the chart.
   
2. In the Data Source Configuration Wizard that appears, select Database -> Dataset.
3. In the Choose Your Data Connection step, click New Connection.

4. In the Add Connection dialog, click Change to select the CData SAP Ariba Procurement Data Source.

   Below is a typical connection string:

   ANID=AN02000000280;API=PurchaseOrdersBuyerAPI-V1;APIKey=wWVLn7WTAXrIRMAzZ6VnuEj7Ekot5jnU;AuthScheme=OAuthClient;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

   In order to connect with SAP Ariba Procurement, set the following:

   • ANID: Your Ariba Network ID.
   • ANID: Specify which API you would like the provider to retrieve SAP Ariba data from. Select the Buyer or Supplier API based on your business role (possible values are PurchaseOrdersBuyerAPIV1 or PurchaseOrdersSupplierAPIV1).
   • Environment: Indicate whether you are connecting to a test or production environment (possible values are TEST or PRODUCTION).

   Authenticating with OAuth

   After setting connection properties, you need to configure OAuth connectivity to authenticate.

   • Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient.
   • Register an application with the service to obtain the APIKey, OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret.

     For more information on creating an OAuth application, refer to the Help documentation.

   Automatic OAuth

   After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

   APIKey: The Application key in your app settings. OAuthClientId: The OAuth Client Id in your app settings. OAuthClientSecret: The OAuth Secret in your app settings.

   When you connect, the provider automatically completes the OAuth process:

   1. The provider obtains an access token from SAP Ariba and uses it to request data.
   2. The provider refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.
   3. The OAuth values are saved in memory relative to the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation.

   When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   👁 Connection properties for the selected data source in the Add Connection dialog. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. Choose the database objects you want to work with. This example uses the Orders table. 👁 Select database objects. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

DataBind

After adding the data source and selecting database objects, you can bind the objects to the chart. This example assigns the x-axis to DocumentNumber and the y-axis to Revision.

1. In the Chart properties, click the button in the Series property to open the Series Collection Editor.
2. In the Series properties, select the columns you want for the x- and y-axes: Select columns from the menu in the XValueMember and YValueMember properties.

The chart is now databound to the SAP Ariba Procurement data. Run the chart to display the current data. 👁 The chart, filled with data at run time.

Code Walk-through

DataBinding to SAP Ariba Procurement data requires only a few lines of code and can be completed in three easy steps.

1. Connect to SAP Ariba Procurement.
2. Create the SAPAribaProcurementDataAdapter to execute the query and create a DataSet to be filled with its results.
3. DataBind the result set to the chart.

Below is the complete code:

SAPAribaProcurementConnection conn = new SAPAribaProcurementConnection("ANID=AN02000000280;API=PurchaseOrdersBuyerAPI-V1;APIKey=wWVLn7WTAXrIRMAzZ6VnuEj7Ekot5jnU;AuthScheme=OAuthClient;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;");
SAPAribaProcurementCommand comm = new SAPAribaProcurementCommand("SELECT DocumentNumber, Revision FROM Orders WHERE OrderStatus = 'CHANGED'", conn);
SAPAribaProcurementDataAdapter da = new SAPAribaProcurementDataAdapter(comm);
DataSet dataset = new DataSet();
da.Fill(dataset);

chart1.DataSource = dataset; 
chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "DocumentNumber";
chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "Revision";
// Insert code for additional chart formatting here.
chart1.DataBind();