Connect to SuiteCRM Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for SuiteCRM can be used from any platform or development technology that supports ODBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to connect to SuiteCRM data and execute queries from the Database Painter and controls such as the DataWindow.

Connect to SuiteCRM as an ODBC Data Source

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.

The User and Password properties must be set to valid SuiteCRM user credentials. Additionally, specify the URL to the SuiteCRM application, for example http://suite.crm.com.

Note that retrieving SuiteCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you store the metadata locally as described in the Caching Metadata section of the data provider help documentation.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for SuiteCRM

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for SuiteCRM. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with SuiteCRM data.

1. In PowerBuilder, click Tools -> Database Painter.
2. In the Objects window in the Database Painter, right-click the ODBC node and click New Profile.
3. On the Connection tab, enter a name for the profile and select the SuiteCRM DSN in the Data Source menu. 👁 The ODBC DSN, required to create the Database Profile. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using SuiteCRM Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to ODBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve SuiteCRM data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODBC"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='DSN=CData SuiteCRM Source'"
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_accounts.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_accounts.Retrieve();