Build Confluence-Connected Web Apps in Servoy

Servoy is a rapid application development and deployment platform. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Confluence, users can build Confluence-connected apps that work with live Confluence data. This article describes how to connect to Confluence from Servoy and build a simple web app to display and search Confluence data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Confluence data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Confluence, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Confluence and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with Confluence data using native data types.

Connect to Confluence in Servoy Developer

To build Confluence-connected apps, you need to first create a data provider in Servoy Developer using the CData JDBC Driver for Confluence.

1. Install the JDBC Driver.
2. Copy the JDBC Driver JAR file. (cdata.jdbc.confluence.jar) to the /application_server/drivers/ directory in the installation directory for Servoy.
3. Open Servoy Developer.
4. In the Solution Explorer, right-click Database Server (under Resources) and choose "Connect to existing database" -> "empty."
   1. Name the server.
   2. Click to show the advanced server settings.

      • Set the URL, for example: jdbc:confluence:User=admin;APIToken=myApiToken;Url=https://yoursitename.atlassian.net;Timezone=America/New_York;

        Built-In Connection String Designer

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

        java -jar cdata.jdbc.confluence.jar

        Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

        Obtaining an API Token

        An API token is necessary for account authentication. To generate one, login to your Atlassian account and navigate to API tokens > Create API token. The generated token will be displayed.

        Connect Using a Confluence Cloud Account

        To connect to a Cloud account, provide the following (Note: Password has been deprecated for connecting to a Cloud Account and is now used only to connect to a Server Instance.):

        • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the Confluence server.
        • APIToken: The API Token associated with the currently authenticated user.
        • Url: The URL associated with your JIRA endpoint. For example, https://yoursitename.atlassian.net.

        Connect Using a Confluence Server Instance

        To connect to a Server instance, provide the following:

        • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the Confluence instance.
        • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the Confluence server.
        • Url: The URL associated with your JIRA endpoint. For example, https://yoursitename.atlassian.net.
      • Select the Driver class you just copied, for example, cdata.jdbc.confluence.ConfluenceDriver

Build a Confluence-Connected Web App

Once you have configured the connection to Confluence in the Servoy Developer resources, you are ready to build apps with access to live Confluence data.

Create a New Solution

1. In the Server Explorer, right-click "All solutions" and select "Create new solution."
2. Name the solution.
3. Select the checkbox to include the "search" module.
4. Click "Finish."

Create a New Form

Right-click "Forms" and select "Create new form."

1. Name the form.
2. Select a Datasource.
3. Set the type (e.g., Simple) and click "Finish."

Add a Data Grid to the Form

1. Drag a Data Grid component (from Servoy NG-Grids) onto the form.

2. Drag a column component onto the Data Grid and set the "dataprovider" property for each column component to a column from the Confluence "table" (e.g., Key from the Pages table).

   Continue adding columns as desired.

Add Searching to the App

Note that the "svySearch" extension is required to add search functionality (included by default when you create a new solution). If you did not add the extension when you created the solution or you are modifying an existing solution, you can add the search module by right-clicking Modules (in the solution) and selecting "Add Module." Select "svySearch" and click "OK."

1. Drag a Text Field component onto the Form.
2. Right-click the Form and select "Open in Script Editor."
3. Create a new variable (JavaScript) to hold the search value:

   var searchText = '';
   

4. Back on the Form, in the Text Field properties:
   1. Set the "dataprovider" property to the Form variable you just created.
   2. Double-click to add a method for the onAction event.
   3. Click to create the method in "Form," name the method (e.g., onEnter), and click "Create private."
   4. Click "OK & Show."
5. Add the following JavaScript to the JavaScript file to use the Servoy framework to implement searching bound data based on the text in the Text Field:

   var search = scopes.svySearch.createSimpleSearch(foundset).setSearchText(searchText);
   search.setSearchAllColumns();
   search.loadRecords(foundset);
   

Save and Launch the App

Save the form and JavaScript file, then click Run -> Launch NGClient to start the web app.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Confluence and start building Confluence-connected apps with Servoy. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.