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Import Real-Time Quickbase Data in ColdFusion to Build Applications


Use CData JDBC drivers to import and use Quickbase 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 JDBC Driver for Quickbase, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Quickbase data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the JDBC driver to create a table populated with Quickbase data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Quickbase data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Quickbase, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Quickbase 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 Quickbase data using native data types.

Configuring the Connection to Quickbase

You will need a JDBC connection string to establish a connection between Coldfusion and Quickbase.

User Authentication Method

To authenticate with user credentials, specify the following connection properties:

  1. Set the User and Password.
  2. If your application requires an ApplicationToken;, you must provide it otherwise an error will be thrown. You can find the ApplicationToken under SpecificApp > Settings > App management > App properties > Advanced settings > Security options > Manage Application Token.

User Token Authentication

To authenticate with a user token, specify the following connection properties:

  1. Set UserToken and you are ready to connect. You can find the UserToken under Quick Base > My Preferences > My User Information > Manage User Tokens.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

java -jar cdata.jdbc.quickbase.jar

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After configuring the connection, follow the steps below to add the CData JDBC Driver to ColdFusion's lib directory, add a new data source, test the connection, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, make a real-time connection with Quickbase data and display it in a table written in the ColdFusion Markup Language, or CFML:

  1. Copy the JDBC Driver for Quickbase and lic file from "C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib" to "C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib". cdata.jdbc.quickbase.jar cdata.jdbc.quickbase.lic

    Note: If you do not copy the .lic file with the jar, you will see a licensing error that indicates you do not have a valid license installed. This is true for both the trial and full versions.

  2. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services.
  3. Here, we can "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our JDBC driver, choose "other", then click the "Add" button.
  4. Next, populate the driver properties.
    • JDBC URL will need to be in the format: jdbc:quickbase:|connectionString|.
    • A typical connection string looks like this:

      jdbc:quickbase:User=user@domain.com;Password=password;Domain=myinstance.quickbase.com;ApplicationToken=bwkxrb5da2wn57bzfh9xn24

    • The Driver Class is: cdata.jdbc.quickbase.QuickBaseDriver
    • The Driver Name is arbitrary and simply used to recognize the data source in the ColdFusion administration console.
  5. Now, test the connection by clicking the check mark to the left of the CDataQuickbaseJDBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
  6. 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="QuickbaseQuery" dataSource="CDataQuickbaseJDBC"> 
          SELECT * FROM SampleTable_1 
        </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
                
          <cftable  
          query = "QuickbaseQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Id</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Id"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Column1</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Column1"/> 

          ...

        </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
                
        <html> 
        <head><title>CData Software | Quickbase SampleTable_1 Table Demo </title></head> 
        <body> 
        <cfoutput>#ucase("Quickbase SampleTable_1 Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
        <cfquery name="QuickbaseQuery" dataSource="CDataQuickbaseJDBC"> 

          SELECT * FROM SampleTable_1 

        </cfquery> 
        <cftable  
          query = "QuickbaseQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 
          <cfcol header="<b>Id</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Id"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Column1</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Column1"/> 

          ...

        </cftable> 
        </body> 

        </html>
  7. Finally, run the code locally in a browser at the default port of 8500. It produces a table populated with Quickbase data!

As a note, the CData JDBC 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 JDBC Driver for Quickbase and start building Quickbase-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.