Import Real-Time Sage 200 Data in ColdFusion to Build Applications

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 Sage 200, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Sage 200 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 Sage 200 data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Sage 200 data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Sage 200, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Sage 200 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 Sage 200 data using native data types.

Configuring the Connection to Sage 200

You will need a JDBC connection string to establish a connection between Coldfusion and Sage 200.

• Schema: Determines which Sage 200 edition you are connecting to. Specify either StandardUK or ProfessionalUK.
• Subscription Key: Provides access to the APIs that are used to establish a connection. You will first need to log into the Sage 200 API website and subscribe to the API edition that matches your account. You can do so here: https://developer.columbus.sage.com/docs/services/api/uk. Afterwards, the subscription key may be found in your profile after logging into Sage 200.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Sage 200 JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

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 Sage 200 data and display it in a table written in the ColdFusion Markup Language, or CFML:

1. Copy the JDBC Driver for Sage 200 and lic file from "C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib" to "C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib". cdata.jdbc.sage200.jar cdata.jdbc.sage200.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:sage200:|connectionString|.
   • A typical connection string looks like this:

     jdbc:sage200:SubscriptionKey=12345;Schema=StandardUK;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

   • The Driver Class is: cdata.jdbc.sage200.Sage200Driver
   • 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 CDataSage 200JDBC 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="Sage 200Query" dataSource="CDataSage 200JDBC"> 
             SELECT * FROM Banks 
           </cfquery> 
       

   And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:

               
             <cftable  
             query = "Sage 200Query" 
             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>Code</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Code"/> 
   
             ...
   
           </cftable> 
       

   Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

               
           <html> 
           <head><title>CData Software | Sage 200 Banks Table Demo </title></head> 
           <body> 
           <cfoutput>#ucase("Sage 200 Banks Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
           <cfquery name="Sage 200Query" dataSource="CDataSage 200JDBC"> 
   
             SELECT * FROM Banks 
   
           </cfquery> 
           <cftable  
             query = "Sage 200Query" 
             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>Code</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Code"/> 
   
             ...
   
           </cftable> 
           </body> 
   
           </html>  
       

7. Finally, run the code locally in a browser at the default port of 8500. It produces a table populated with Sage 200 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 Sage 200 and start building Sage 200-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.