Connect to Sybase Data from PowerBuilder via JDBC

The CData JDBC driver for Sybase is a standards-based control that can be used from any platform or development technology that supports JDBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Sybase in PowerBuilder.

This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for Sybase to perform reads and writes.

Connect to Sybase Data from PowerBuilder

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for Sybase. You can use a database profile to save connection properties. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.

1. Add the driver JAR to the PowerBuilder classpath. Set the CLASSPATH system environment variable to the path to the driver JAR, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

   Note: If you are using PowerBuilder Classic, you can also add the path to the driver JAR by clicking Tools -> System Options -> Java.

2. Click Tools -> Database Painter.
3. Right-click the JDBC node and click New Profile.
4. In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
   • Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
   • Driver Name: Enter the class name of the driver, cdata.jdbc.sybase.SybaseDriver
   • URL: Enter the JDBC URL.

     To connect to Sybase, specify the following connection properties:

     • Server: Set this to the name or network address of the Sybase database instance.
     • Database: Set this to the name of the Sybase database running on the specified Server.

     Optionally, you can also secure your connections with TLS/SSL by setting UseSSL to true.

     Sybase supports several methods for authentication including Password and Kerberos.

     Connect Using Password Authentication

     Set the AuthScheme to Password and set the following connection properties to use Sybase authentication.

     • User: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.
     • Password: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.

     Connect using LDAP Authentication

     To connect with LDAP authentication, configure Sybase server-side to use the LDAP authentication mechanism.

     After configuring Sybase for LDAP, you can connect using the same credentials as Password authentication.

     Connect Using Kerberos Authentication

     To leverage Kerberos authentication, begin by enabling it setting AuthScheme to Kerberos.

   See the Using Kerberos section in the Help documentation for more information on using Kerberos authentication.

   You can find an example connection string below:

   Server=MyServer;Port=MyPort;User=SampleUser;Password=SamplePassword;Database=MyDB;Kerberos=true;KerberosKDC=MyKDC;KerberosRealm=MYREALM.COM;KerberosSPN=server-name

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Sybase JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.sybase.jar
   

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard. A typical JDBC URL is below:

   jdbc:sybase:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Server=localhost;Database=mydatabase;Charset=iso_1;

👁 The JDBC data source defined in the Database Profile Setup dialog. (Salesforce is shown.)

5. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Sybase Data with PowerBuilder Controls

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

SQLCA.DBMS = "JDBC"
SQLCA.AutoCommit = False
SQLCA.DBParm = "Driver='cdata.jdbc.sybase.SybaseDriver',URL='jdbc:sybase:User=myuser;Password=mypassword;Server=localhost;Database=mydatabase;Charset=iso_1;";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_products.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_products.Retrieve();