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CData API Server Overview
CData API Server is a lightweight application that lets you quickly build and deploy REST APIs without custom development. It works by exposing on-premise and cloud-based data through a custom REST architecture. In this article, we'll explore an overview of the API Server, its functionality, key features, and how to get started building APIs quickly.
Table of Contents
- How Does the CData API Server Work?
- What does an API by the CData API Server look like?
- Supported OData Features
- Beyond OData: API Server Drivers
- How do I get started?
How Does the CData API Server Work?
The API Server is designed to let you quickly build and deploy uniform APIs for disparate data sources, without needing custom development for each resource.
Using simple point-and-click interfaces, you can configure connections and build a REST API for leading RDBMSs, popular file formats (CSV, TSV, JSON, etc.), on-premises sources (QuickBooks, MS Excel, MS Access, etc.), NoSQL databases, and SaaS applications. Since the API Server is installed directly on your server, you can easily provide both local and remote access to the API.
What does an API by the CData API Server look like?
The CData API Server generates APIs using the OData protocol by default, making them immediately compatible with popular BI, reporting, and ETL tools, as well as common development frameworks. Once you've configured a connection and added resources, you can send HTTP requests to read and write data seamlessly.
For tools that support OData natively — like Microsoft Power BI or Salesforce Lightning Connect — the process runs and managed automatically in the background. If you're coding the requests manually, the API Server provides an API page listing available endpoints and corresponding HTTP methods for quick reference.
The API page of the API Server contains resources represented as Tables from various data sources, alongside Stored Procedures that run on those sources. You can either use an OData endpoint URL or an OpenAPI endpoint URL. These base URLs can be used in your querying application, paired with the table or stored procedure name.
The API Server also automatically creates endpoints for resource discovery, rich metadata retrieval, and a Swagger endpoint, allowing integration with Swagger-capable tools and libraries. Each configured resource gets its own dedicated endpoint, enabling direct read and write operations — governed by the source's permissions.
For example, setting up a Salesforce connection lets you interact with Account data through an endpoint like: http://address:port/api.rsc/Salesforce_Account. This flexible, standards-based setup ensures smooth API integration with modern web apps and services, supporting formats like JSON and CSV.
Supported OData Features
CData API Server provides complete support for the following standard OData 4.0 URL parameters:
- $filter
- $expand
- $select
- $search
- $orderby
- $top
- $skip
- $inlinecount
- $count
- $format
The API Server translates the received OData requests to the native protocol or API for the base data source, processes the response, and returns the data. For more information on the usage of these parameters, refer to the online Help documentation on the API Server page.
Beyond OData: Standard-Based API Server Drivers
For tools and applications that don't natively support the OData protocol, CData Software provides a range of standards-based drivers — including ADO.NET, JDBC, and ODBC — along with integrations for Microsoft Excel, SSIS, BizTalk, and PowerShell. These drivers ensure seamless data connectivity through the API Server, offering broad compatibility with your existing tools.
Once the connection to the API Server is configured, the drivers behave like any standard database driver, supporting schema discovery and enabling full CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations — giving you the flexibility to interact with your data from your preferred environment.
How do I get started?
CData API Server is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux/Unix, offering seamless cross-platform support. Quickly create REST APIs for real-time, bi-directional access to data from 270+ sources — including popular RDBMS platforms, NoSQL databases, and SaaS applications — whether the data is on-premises or in the cloud.
API Server Drivers are also offered for Windows, Mac, and Linux/Unix, tailored to fit your preferred technology. Pick the driver that meets your requirements and start integrating live data into your favorite apps and environments today.
For hosted environments, our Knowledge Base includes detailed guides on deploying the API Server on platforms like Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, and Heroku.
Got questions? Our expert support team is always ready to assist — from installation to troubleshooting and beyond.
