Feed FTP Data into FineReport

The CData JDBC Driver for FTP fully implements the JDBC standard and can provide FTP data connectivity to a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and custom applications. In this article, we explain how to set FTP data as JDBC data source in FineReport and view FTP data as a table in the Report Designer.

Set Up a JDBC Data Source of FTP Data

Follow the instruction below to set FTP data as a FineReport database connection.

1. Copy the cdata.jdbc.ftp.jar file from the lib folder in the CData JDBC Driver for FTP installation directory to the lib folder of the FineReport installation directory. You will need to copy the cdata.jdbc.ftp.lic file as well.
2. From the Server tab, select Define Data Connection, click to add a new connection, and click JDBC.

Next we will set up the data connection definition in the window.

1. Database: Others
2. JDBC Driver: cdata.jdbc.ftp.FTPDriver
3. URL: A standard JDBC connection string using semicolon-separated connection properties.

   To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

   Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

   Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

   The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

   • RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
   • TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
   • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

   Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.ftp.jar

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

   When you configure the JDBC URL, 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.

   A typical JDBC URL is below:

   jdbc:ftp:RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;
4. Click Connection pool attributes and set Test before getting connections to No.

Click Test connection to ensure you have configured the connection properly. With the connection to FTP set up, you can use it as FineReport data source.

Select FTP Data in the Report Designer.

1. Click to add a new template data set and select DB query to open the database query window.
2. Choose the JDBC connection that you created from the dropdown list.
3. The FTP entities will appear as tables on the left pane.
4. Write a SELECT statement for the FTP data tables and columns that you want to load.
5. Click preview and data is shown as table.

With these simple steps, FTP can be used as a JDBC data source in FineReport.