Connect to ActiveTrail Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for ActiveTrail can be used from any platform or development technology that supports ODBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to connect to ActiveTrail data and execute queries from the Database Painter and controls such as the DataWindow.

Connect to ActiveTrail as an ODBC Data Source

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. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the ActiveTrail Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\ActiveTrail.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for ActiveTrail (see below).

ActiveTrail API Profile Settings

ActiveTrail uses API key authentication. To obtain an API key:

1. Log in to your ActiveTrail account at https://app.activetrail.com
2. Navigate to your account settings and locate the API integration section
3. Generate or copy your existing API key

After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your ActiveTrail API key.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for ActiveTrail

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for ActiveTrail. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with ActiveTrail data.

1. In PowerBuilder, click Tools -> Database Painter.
2. In the Objects window in the Database Painter, right-click the ODBC node and click New Profile.
3. On the Connection tab, enter a name for the profile and select the ActiveTrail DSN in the Data Source menu.
4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using ActiveTrail Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to ODBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve ActiveTrail data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODBC"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='DSN=CData API Source'"
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_groupmembers.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_groupmembers.Retrieve();