Access Excel Online Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver

The CData JDBC Driver for Excel Online connects Excel Online data to Mule applications enabling read , write, update, and delete functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze Excel Online data.

This article demonstrates how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Excel Online inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for Excel Online data. The application created allows you to request Excel Online data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the 200+ available data sources.

1. Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
2. Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
3. Configure the address for the HTTP Connector.
4. Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
5. Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
   • Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
   • Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.excelonline.jar).
   • Set the URL to the connection string for Excel Online

     You can connect to a workbook by providing authentication to Excel Online and then setting the following properties:

     • Workbook: Set this to the name or Id of the workbook.

       If you want to view a list of information about the available workbooks, execute a query to the Workbooks view after you authenticate.

     • UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are connecting to a workbook in a sandbox account. Otherwise, leave this blank to connect to a production account.

     You use the OAuth authentication standard to authenticate to Excel Online. See the Getting Started section in the help documentation for a guide. Getting Started also guides you through executing SQL to worksheets and ranges.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.excelonline.jar

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

   • Set the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.excelonline.ExcelOnlineDriver.
   • Click Test Connection.
6. Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request Excel Online data. For example: SELECT Id, Column1 FROM Test_xlsx_Sheet1
7. Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
8. Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:

   %dw 2.0
   output application/json
   ---
   payload
           

9. To view your Excel Online data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The Excel Online data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.

At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with Excel Online data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for Excel Online and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.