Create AfterShip-Connected Enterprise Applications in OutSystems

OutSystems is a low-code platform which provides the tools for companies to developer, deploy, and manage omnichannel enterprise applications. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to AfterShip data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for AfterShip in Connect AI and build a simple app from AfterShip data in OutSystems.

The CData Connect AI provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for AfterShip, allowing you to build reports from live AfterShip data in OutSystems — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you create applications to work with data, OutSystems generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to AfterShip, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested AfterShip data.

Configure AfterShip Connectivity for OutSystems

Connectivity to AfterShip from OutSystems is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with AfterShip data from OutSystems, we start by creating and configuring a AfterShip connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "AfterShip" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to AfterShip.

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

   AfterShip API Profile Settings

   Obtain your API key from the AfterShip account management panel by navigating to My Account > Settings > API Keys.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add AfterShip Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to AfterShip data from OutSystems.

Connect to AfterShip from OutSystems

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from OutSystems to create a new AfterShip database connection.

1. Open OutSystems Service Studio
2. Click the gear icon to open Environment Management in the Service Center
3. Click Administration and select "Database Connections"
4. Click "New Database Connection"
5. Configure the database connection:
   • Name: name the connection (e.g. CData Connect AI AfterShip)
   • DBMS: SQL Server / Azure SQL
   • Username: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: the PAT for the Connect AI user
   • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Schema: the name of your AfterShip connection (e.g. API1)
   
6. Click "Test Connection"
7. Click "Create"

Map AfterShip Tables or Views to Entities in an Extension Module

Once you create the database connection for AfterShip, you can create an extension that maps the tables or views to OutSystems entities. If you have not already done so, create an Application in Service Studio.

1. Open the Service Studio and open the existing Application
2. Click "Add Module," set the "Module Name" (e.g. api_db_extension), set "Module Type" to "Extension," and click "Create Module"
3. In Integration Studio, connect to your environment
4. Right-click "Entities" in the extension tree and select "Connect to External Table or View..."
5. Follow the steps in the wizard, selecting the tables and views you wish to work with
6. In the Integration Studio, click "1-Click Publish"
7. In the "1-Click Publish" wizard, click "Configure" when the process completes
   • In the Service Center, associate the logical database name of the extension to the database connection that the extension will use and click "Apply"
8. In your application, click "Manage Dependencies..."
9. Add a dependency to the Extension and select the Entities that you will use in your application

At this point, you can access and work with AfterShip data just like you would with the standard OutSystems entities.

Get CData Connect AI

With Connect AI and OutSystems, you can easily build AfterShip-connected applications. Request a free trial of Connect AI and start working with AfterShip data in OutSystems today.