Connect to Slack Data from Blazor Apps

Blazor is a framework for developing modern, client-side web UIs using .NET technology. Instead of coding in JavaScript, developers can use the familiar C# language and .NET libraries to build app UIs.

The CData ADO.NET Provider for Slack can be used with standard ADO.NET interfaces, such as LINQ and Entity Framework, to interact with live Slack data. Since Blazor supports .NET Core, developers can use CData ADO.NET Providers in Blazor apps. In this article, we will guide you to build a simple Blazor app that talks to Slack using standard SQL queries.

Install the CData ADO.NET Provider for Slack

CData ADO.NET Providers allow users to access Slack just like they would access SQL Server, using simple SQL queries.

Install the Slack ADO.NET Data Provider from the CData website or from NuGet. Search NuGet for "Slack ADO.NET Data Provider."

Create a Slack-Connected Blazor App

Start by creating a Blazor project that references the CData ADO.NET Provider for Slack

1. Create a Blazor project on Visual Studio.
👁 Create a Blazor app project.

2. From the Solution Explorer, right click Dependencies, then click Add Project Reference.
3. In the Reference Manager, click the Browse button, and choose the .dll file of the installed ADO.NET Provider (e.g. System.Data.CData.Slack.dll, typically located at C:\Program Files\CData\CData ADO.NET Provider for Slack\lib etstandard2.0).
👁 Reference ADO.NET for Slack .dll in the Blazor app.

SELECT Slack Data from the Blazor App

1. Open the Index.razor file from the Project page.
2. In a SlackConnection object, set the connection string: Slack uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate using OAuth, create an app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties. See the Getting Started section of the help documentation for an authentication guide.

   For example: OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

3. The code below creates a simple Blazor app for displaying Slack data, using standard SQL to query Slack just like SQL Server.

    @page "/"
    @using System.Data;
    @using System.Data.CData.Slack;
    
    <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
    
    Welcome to your Data app.
    
    <div class="row">
    <div class="col-12">
    
    @using (SlackConnection connection = new SlackConnection(
    "OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;"))
    {
    var sql = "SELECT Id, Name FROM Channels";
    var results = new DataTable();
    
    SlackDataAdapter dataAdapter = new SlackDataAdapter(sql, connection);
    dataAdapter.Fill(results);
    
    <table class="table table-bordered">
    <thead class="thead-light">
    <tr>
    @foreach (DataColumn item in results.Rows[0].Table.Columns)
    {
    <th scope="col">@item.ColumnName</th>
    }
    </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
    @foreach (DataRow row in results.Rows)
    {
    <tr>
    @foreach (var column in row.ItemArray)
    {
    <td>@column.ToString()</td>
    }
    </tr>
    }
    </tbody>
    </table>
    }
    </div>
    </div>
    

4. Rebuild and run the project. The ADO.NET Provider renders Slack data as an HTML table in the Blazor app. 👁 Query Slack from Blazor app.
   

   At this point, you have a Slack-connected Blazor app, capable of working with live Slack data just like you would work with a SQL Server instance. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working with live Slack data in your Blazor apps today.