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Import Real-Time Azure Data Catalog Data in ColdFusion to Build Applications


Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Azure Data Catalog data in ColdFusion.

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 Azure Data Catalog, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Azure Data Catalog 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 Azure Data Catalog data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Data Catalog 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.

You can optionally set the following to read the different catalog data returned from Azure Data Catalog.

    CatalogName: Set this to the CatalogName associated with your Azure Data Catalog. To get your Catalog name, navigate to your Azure Portal home page > Data Catalog > Catalog Name

Connect Using OAuth Authentication

You must use OAuth to authenticate with Azure Data Catalog. OAuth requires the authenticating user to interact with Azure Data Catalog using the browser. For more information, refer to the OAuth section in the help documentation.

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 Azure Data Catalog Azure Data Catalog data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose 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.
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Azure Data Catalog 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.
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataAzure Data CatalogODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
  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="Azure Data CatalogQuery" dataSource="CDataAzure Data CatalogODBC"> 
          SELECT * FROM Tables 
        </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
                
          <cftable  
          query = "Azure Data CatalogQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 

          <cfcol header="<b>DslAddressDatabase</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="DslAddressDatabase"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Type</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Type"/> 

          ...

        </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
                
        <html> 
        <head><title>CData Software | Azure Data Catalog Tables Table Demo </title></head> 
        <body> 
        <cfoutput>#ucase("Azure Data Catalog Tables Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
        <cfquery name="Azure Data CatalogQuery" dataSource="CDataAzure Data CatalogODBC"> 

          SELECT * FROM Tables 

        </cfquery> 
        <cftable  
          query = "Azure Data CatalogQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 
          <cfcol header="<b>DslAddressDatabase</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="DslAddressDatabase"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Type</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Type"/> 

          ...

        </cftable> 
        </body> 

        </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Azure Data Catalog data!

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 Azure Data Catalog and start building Azure Data Catalog-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

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Download a free trial of the Azure Data Catalog ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

Azure Data Catalog Icon Azure Data Catalog ODBC Driver

The Azure Data Catalog ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Azure Data Catalog, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Azure Data Catalog data like you would a database - read, write, and update Azure Data Catalog Schemas, Tables, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.

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