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

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 SQL Server, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational SQL Server 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 SQL Server data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

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

Connecting to Microsoft SQL Server

Connect to Microsoft SQL Server using the following properties:

• Server: The name of the server running SQL Server.
• User: The username provided for authentication with SQL Server.
• Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
• Database: The name of the SQL Server database.

Connecting to Azure SQL Server and Azure Data Warehouse

You can authenticate to Azure SQL Server or Azure Data Warehouse by setting the following connection properties:

• Server: The server running Azure. You can find this by logging into the Azure portal and navigating to "SQL databases" (or "SQL data warehouses") -> "Select your database" -> "Overview" -> "Server name."
• User: The name of the user authenticating to Azure.
• Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
• Database: The name of the database, as seen in the Azure portal on the SQL databases (or SQL warehouses) page.

SSH Connectivity for SQL Server

You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with SQL Server, whether the instance is hosted on-premises or in supported cloud environments. SSH authentication ensures that access is encrypted (as compared to direct network connections).

SSH Connections to SQL Server in Password Auth Mode

To connect to SQL Server via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

• User: SQL Server User name
• Password: SQL Server Password
• Database: SQL Server database name
• Server: SQL Server Server name
• Port: SQL Server port number like 3306
• UserSSH: "true"
• SSHAuthMode: "Password"
• SSHPort: SSH Port number
• SSHServer: SSH Server name
• SSHUser: SSH User name
• SSHPassword: SSH Password

SSH Connections to SQL Server in Public Key Auth Mode

To connect to SQL Server via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

• User: SQL Server User name
• Password: SQL Server Password
• Database: SQL Server database name
• Server: SQL Server Server name
• Port: SQL Server port number like 3306
• UserSSH: "true"
• SSHAuthMode: "Public_Key"
• SSHPort: SSH Port number
• SSHServer: SSH Server name
• SSHUser: SSH User name
• SSHClientCret: the path for the public key certificate file

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 SQL Server 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 SQL Server 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 CDataSQL ServerODBC 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="SQL ServerQuery" dataSource="CDataSQL ServerODBC"> 
    SELECT * FROM Orders 
    </cfquery> 
    

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

    
    <cftable 
    query = "SQL ServerQuery" 
    border = "1" 
    colHeaders 
    colSpacing = "2" 
    headerLines = "2" 
    HTMLTable 
    maxRows = "500" 
    startRow = "1"> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>ShipName</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="ShipName"/> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>Freight</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Freight"/> 
   
    ...
   
    </cftable> 
    

   Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

    
    <html> 
    <head><title>CData Software | SQL Server Orders Table Demo </title></head> 
    <body> 
    <cfoutput>#ucase("SQL Server Orders Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
    <cfquery name="SQL ServerQuery" dataSource="CDataSQL ServerODBC"> 
   
    SELECT * FROM Orders 
   
    </cfquery> 
    <cftable 
    query = "SQL ServerQuery" 
    border = "1" 
    colHeaders 
    colSpacing = "2" 
    headerLines = "2" 
    HTMLTable 
    maxRows = "500" 
    startRow = "1"> 
    <cfcol header="<b>ShipName</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="ShipName"/> 
   
    <cfcol header="<b>Freight</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Freight"/> 
   
    ...
   
    </cftable> 
    </body> 
   
    </html> 
    

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