Replicate Google Contacts Data from PowerShell



Write a quick PowerShell script to query Google Contacts data. Use connectivity to the live data to replicate Google Contacts data to SQL Server.



The CData ODBC Driver for Google Contacts enables out-of-the-box integration with Microsoft's built-in support for ODBC. The ODBC driver instantly integrates connectivity to the real Google Contacts data with PowerShell.

You can use the .NET Framework Provider for ODBC built into PowerShell to quickly automate integration tasks like replicating Google Contacts data to other databases. This article shows how to replicate Google Contacts data to SQL Server in 5 lines of code.

You can also write PowerShell code to execute create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operations. See the examples below.

Create an ODBC Data Source for Google Contacts

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.

You can connect to Google APIs on behalf of individual users or on behalf of a domain. Google uses the OAuth authentication standard. See the "Getting Started" section of the help documentation for a guide.

Connect to Google Contacts

The code below shows how to use the DSN to initialize the connection to Google Contacts data in PowerShell:

$conn = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcConnection $conn.ConnectionString = "DSN=CData GoogleContacts Source x64"

Back Up Google Contacts Data to SQL Server

After you enable caching, you can use the code below to replicate data to SQL Server.

Set the following connection properties to configure the caching database:

  • CacheProvider: The name of the ADO.NET provider. This can be found in the Machine.config for your version of .NET. For example, to configure SQL Server, enter System.Data.SqlClient.

  • CacheConnection: The connection string of properties required to connect to the database. Below is an example for SQL Server:

    Server=localhost;Database=RSB;User Id=sqltest;Password=sqltest;

The SQL query in the example can be used to refresh the entire cached table, including its schema. Any already existing cache is deleted.

$conn.Open() # Create and execute the SQL Query $SQL = "CACHE DROP EXISTING SELECT * FROM " + $Friends $cmd = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcCommand($sql,$conn) $count = $cmd.ExecuteNonQuery() $conn.Close()

The driver gives you complete control over the caching functionality. See the help documentation for more caching commands and usage examples. See the help documentation for steps to replicate to other databases.

Other Operations

To retrieve Google Contacts data in PowerShell, call the Fill method of the OdbcDataAdapter method. To execute data manipulation commands, initialize the OdbcCommand object and then call ExecuteNonQuery. Below are some more examples CRUD commands to Google Contacts through the .NET Framework Provider for ODBC:

Retrieve Google Contacts Data

$sql="SELECT Summary, StartDateTime from Friends" $da= New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($sql, $conn) $dt= New-Object System.Data.DataTable $da.Fill($dt) $dt.Rows | foreach { $dt.Columns | foreach ($col in dt{ Write-Host $1[$_] } }

Update Google Contacts Data

$cmd = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcCommand("UPDATE Friends SET SearchTerms='Durham' WHERE Id = @myId", $conn) $cmd.Parameters.Add(new System.Data.Odbc.OdbcParameter("myId","001d000000YBRseAAH") $cmd.ExecuteNonQuery()

Insert Google Contacts Data

$cmd = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcCommand("INSERT INTO Friends SET SearchTerms='Durham' WHERE Id = @myId", $conn) $cmd.Parameters.Add(new System.Data.Odbc.OdbcParameter("myId","001d000000YBRseAAH") $cmd.ExecuteNonQuery()

Delete Google Contacts Data

$cmd = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcCommand("DELETE FROM Friends WHERE Id = @myid", $conn) $cmd.Parameters.Add(new System.Data.Odbc.OdbcParameter("myId","001d000000YBRseAAH") $cmd.ExecuteNonQuery()

Ready to get started?

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Google Contacts Icon Google Contacts ODBC Driver

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

Access Google Contacts data like you would a database, including Contacts, Groups, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.