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

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

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

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use ServiceNow 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 ServiceNow, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational ServiceNow 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 ServiceNow data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

About ServiceNow Data Integration

CData simplifies access and integration of live ServiceNow data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:

  • Get optimized performance since CData uses the REST API for data and the SOAP API for schema.
  • Read, write, update, and delete ServiceNow objects like Schedules, Timelines, Questions, Syslogs and more.
  • Use SQL stored procedures for actions like adding items to a cart, submitting orders, and downloading attachments.
  • Securely authenticate with ServiceNow, including basic (username and password), OKTA, ADFS, OneLogin, and PingFederate authentication schemes.

Many users access live ServiceNow data from preferred analytics tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and use CData solutions to integrate ServiceNow data with their database or data warehouse.


Getting Started


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

ServiceNow uses the OAuth 2.0 authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, register an OAuth app with ServiceNow to obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret connection properties. In addition to the OAuth values, specify the Instance, Username, and Password connection properties.

See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide on connecting to ServiceNow.

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

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

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

 ...

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

 SELECT * FROM incident 

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

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

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with ServiceNow 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 ServiceNow and start building ServiceNow-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 ServiceNow ODBC Driver to get started:

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ServiceNow ODBC Driver

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

Access ServiceNow data like you would a database - read, write, and update Schedules, Timelines, Questions, Syslogs, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.