Use the CData ODBC Driver for Trello in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for Trello, you gain database-like access to live Trello data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for Trello in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time Trello data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Trello data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to Trello, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Trello and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze Trello data in SAS.

Connect to Trello as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Trello follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Trello must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

Trello uses token-based authentication to grant third-party applications access to their API. When a user has granted an application access to their data, the application is given a token that can be used to make requests to Trello's API.

Trello's API can be accessed in 2 different ways. The first is using Trello's own Authorization Route, and the second is using OAuth1.0.

• Authorization Route: At the moment of registration, Trello assigns an API key and Token to the account. See the Help documentation for information on how to connect via the Authorization route.
• OAuth Route: Similar to using Authorization, OAuth creates an Application Id and Secret when you create your account. See the Help documentation for information on how to to connect.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

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.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Trello in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData Trello Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Trello
Description = My Description
APIKey = myApiKey
Token = myGeneratedToken
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Trello Library in SAS

Connect to Trello in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for Trello.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK. 👁 Creating a library for Trello in SAS.
   

Create a View from a Trello Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live Trello data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK. 👁 Selecting table(s) to visualize.
   
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc. 👁 Selecting columns(s) to visualize and configuring the query.
   
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK. 👁 Create a local view to work with Trello data.
   

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
    create view boards_view as
    select 
    boardid, 
    name 
    from 
    odbclib.boards 
    where 
    Name = 'Public Board';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize Trello Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Trello data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the Trello Boards data.

   proc print data=boards;
    title "Trello Boards Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Trello data report.
   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the Boards data.

   proc gchart data=boards;
    pie boardid / sumvar=name
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='BoardsChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple Trello data chart.