Connect to CSV Data in HULFT Integrate

HULFT Integrate is a modern data integration platform that provides a drag-and-drop user interface to create cooperation flows, data conversion, and processing so that complex data connections are easier than ever to execute. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for CSV, HULFT Integrate can work with live CSV data. This article walks through connecting to CSV and moving the data into a CSV file.

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

Enable Access to CSV

To enable access to CSV data from HULFT Integrate projects:

1. Copy the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (and license file if it exists), cdata.jdbc.csv.jar (and cdata.jdbc.csv.lic), to the jdbc_adapter subfolder for the Integrate Server
2. Restart the HULFT Integrate Server and launch HULFT Integrate Studio

Build a Project with Access to CSV Data

Once you copy the JAR files, you can create a project with access to CSV data. Start by opening Integrate Studio and creating a new project.

1. Name the project
2. Ensure the "Create script" checkbox is checked
3. Click Next
4. Name the script (e.g.: CSVtoCSV)

Once you create the project, add components to the script to copy CSV data to a CSV file.

Configure an Execute Select SQL Component

Drag an "Execute Select SQL" component from the Tool Palette (Database -> JDBC) into the Script workspace.

1. In the "Required settings" tab for the Destination, click "Add" to create a new connection for CSV. Set the following properties:
   • Name: CSV Connection Settings
   • Driver class name: cdata.jdbc.csv.CSVDriver
   • URL: jdbc:csv:DataSource=MyCSVFilesFolder;
     
     

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.csv.jar

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

     The DataSource property must be set to a valid local folder name.

     Also, specify the IncludeFiles property to work with text files having extensions that differ from .csv, .tab, or .txt. Specify multiple file extensions in a comma-separated list. You can also set Extended Properties compatible with the Microsoft Jet OLE DB 4.0 driver. Alternatively, you can provide the format of text files in a Schema.ini file.

     Set UseRowNumbers to true if you are deleting or updating in CSV. This will create a new column with the name RowNumber which will be used as key for that table.

2. Write your SQL statement. For example:

   SELECT City, TotalDue FROM Customer

3. Click "Extraction test" to ensure the connection and query are configured properly
4. Click "Execute SQL statement and set output schema"
5. Click "Finish"

Configure a Write CSV File Component

Drag a "Write CSV File" component from the Tool Palette (File -> CSV) onto the workspace.

1. Set a file to write the query results to (e.g. Customer.csv)
2. Set "Input data" to the "Select SQL" component
3. Add columns for each field selected in the SQL query
4. In the "Write settings" tab, check the checkbox to "Insert column names into first row"
5. Click "Finish"

Map CSV Fields to the CSV Columns

Map each column from the "Select" component to the corresponding column for the "CSV" component.

Finish the Script

Drag the "Start" component onto the "Select" component and the "CSV" component onto the "End" component. Build the script and run the script to move CSV data into a CSV file.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for CSV and start working with your live CSV data in HULFT Integrate. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.