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

Access MySQL databases from virtually anywhere through a standard ODBC Driver interface.

Import Real-Time MySQL Data in ColdFusion to Build Applications



Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use MySQL 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 MySQL, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational MySQL 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 MySQL data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

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

The Server and Port properties must be set to a MySQL server. If IntegratedSecurity is set to false, then User and Password must be set to valid user credentials. Optionally, Database can be set to connect to a specific database. If not set, tables from all databases will be returned.

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 MySQL MySQL 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 MySQL 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 CDataMySQLODBC 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="MySQLQuery" dataSource="CDataMySQLODBC"> 
              SELECT * FROM Orders 
            </cfquery> 
        
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:
                
              <cftable  
              query = "MySQLQuery" 
              border = "1" 
              colHeaders 
              colSpacing = "2" 
              headerLines = "2" 
              HTMLTable 
              maxRows = "500" 
              startRow = "1"> 
    
              <cfcol header="<b>ShipName</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="ShipName"/> 
    
              <cfcol header="<b>Freight</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Freight"/> 
    
              ...
    
            </cftable> 
        
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:
                
            <html> 
            <head><title>CData Software | MySQL Orders Table Demo </title></head> 
            <body> 
            <cfoutput>#ucase("MySQL Orders Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
            <cfquery name="MySQLQuery" dataSource="CDataMySQLODBC"> 
    
              SELECT * FROM Orders 
    
            </cfquery> 
            <cftable  
              query = "MySQLQuery" 
              border = "1" 
              colHeaders 
              colSpacing = "2" 
              headerLines = "2" 
              HTMLTable 
              maxRows = "500" 
              startRow = "1"> 
              <cfcol header="<b>ShipName</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="ShipName"/> 
    
              <cfcol header="<b>Freight</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Freight"/> 
    
              ...
    
            </cftable> 
            </body> 
    
            </html>  
        
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with MySQL 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 MySQL and start building MySQL-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.