DataBind Controls to SAP Ariba Procurement Data in C++Builder

The CData ODBC driver for SAP Ariba Procurement makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live SAP Ariba Procurement data with standard data access components in C++Builder. This article shows how to create a simple visual component library (VCL) application in C++Builder that connects to SAP Ariba Procurement data, executes queries, and displays the results in a grid. An additional section shows how to use FireDAC components to execute commands from code.

Create a Connection to SAP Ariba Procurement Data

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

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.

You can then follow the steps below to use the Data Explorer to create a FireDAC connection to SAP Ariba Procurement.

1. In a new VCL Forms application, expand the FireDAC node in the Data Explorer.
2. Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
3. Click Add New Connection.
4. Enter a name for the connection.
5. In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for SAP Ariba Procurement.

👁 A FireDAC connection to the ODBC data source. (Salesforce is shown.)

Create VCL Applications with Connectivity to SAP Ariba Procurement Data

Follow the procedure below to start querying SAP Ariba Procurement data from a simple VCL application that displays the results of a query in a grid.

1. Drop a TFDConnection component onto the form and set the following properties:

   • ConnectionDefName: Select the FireDAC connection to SAP Ariba Procurement.
   • Connected: Select True from the menu and, in the dialog that appears, enter your credentials.

2. Drop a TFDQuery component onto the form and set the properties below:

   • Connection: Set this property to the TFDConnection component, if this component is not already specified.

   • SQL: Click the button in the SQL property and enter a query. For example:

     SELECT DocumentNumber, Revision FROM Orders WHERE OrderStatus = 'CHANGED'
     

   • Active: Set this property to true.

3. Drop a TDataSource component onto the form and set the following property:

   • DataSet: In the menu for this property, select the name of the TFDQuery component.

4. Drop a TDBGrid control onto the form and set the following property:

   • DataSource: Select the name of the TDataSource.
5. Drop a TFDGUIxWaitCursor onto the form — this is required to avoid a run-time error.

👁 Components in FireDAC used to databind an editable grid to the data source. (Salesforce is shown.)

Execute Commands to SAP Ariba Procurement with FireDAC Components

You can use the TFDConnection and TFQuery components to execute queries to SAP Ariba Procurement data. This section provides SAP Ariba Procurement-specific examples of executing queries with the TFQuery component.

Connect to SAP Ariba Procurement Data

To connect to the data source, set the Connected property of the TFDConnection component to true. You can set the same properties from code:

FDConnection1->ConnectionDefName = "CData SAP Ariba Procurement ODBC Source";
FDConnection1->Connected = true;

To connect the TFDQuery component to SAP Ariba Procurement data, set the Connection property of the component. When a TFDQuery component is added at design time, its Connection property is automatically set to point to a TFDConnection on the form, as in the application above.

Create Parameterized Queries

To create a parameterized query, use the following syntax below:

FDQuery1->SQL->Text = "select * from Orders where orderstatus = :OrderStatus";
FDQuery1->ParamByName("orderstatus")->AsString = "CHANGED";
FDQuery1->Open();

The example above binds a string-type input parameter by name and then opens the dataset that results.

Prepare the Statement

Preparing statements is costly in system resources and time. The connection must be active and open while a statement is prepared. By default, FireDAC prepares the query to avoid recompiling the same query over and over. To disable statement preparation, set ResourceOptions.DirectExecute to True; for example, when you need to execute a query only once.

Execute a Query

To execute a query that returns a result set, such as a select query, use the Open method. The Open method executes the query, returns the result set, and opens it. The Open method will return an error if the query does not produce a result set.

FDQuery1->SQL->Text = "select * from Orders where orderstatus = :OrderStatus";
FDQuery1->ParamByName("orderstatus")->AsString = "CHANGED";
FDQuery1->Open();

Related Articles

Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.

• DataBind Controls to SAP Ariba Procurement Data in Delphi
• Viewing SAP Ariba Procurement Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer
• Build a Simple VCL Application for SAP Ariba Procurement Data