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How to Generate SQL Command Schemas for the CData BizTalk Adapter for Airtable


The CData BizTalk Adapter makes it easy to process Airtable data in BizTalk by returning the data as XML. You can use this data in a BizTalk orchestration by creating an XML schema file for the table you want to access in BizTalk.

This article will show how to generate a schema to process Airtable data retrieved using the CData BizTalk Adapter. You will generate a schema for a SELECT command.

This guide shows how to use the CData BizTalk Adapter for Airtable to execute SQL commands to Airtable.

Add the Adapter for Airtable to Your Project

Follow the steps below to add the adapter to a BizTalk Server project.

  1. If you have not already done so, create a new BizTalk Server project in Visual Studio.
  2. Right-click on the project in the Solution Explorer and click Add -> Add Generated Items.
  3. Select Add Adapter Metadata in the resulting dialog box.
  4. In the resulting Add Adapter wizard, select the adapter from the list.
  5. In the Port menu, leave the selection blank. You can also select a receive location or send port that has the adapter configured as its transport type.

Generate a Schema for an SQL Command

After you select the adapter in the Add Adapter wizard, the Schema wizard is displayed. Follow the steps below to configure connection properties and retrieve the metadata for the results of the command.

  1. In the Connection String page, enter authentication credentials and other connection properties, if you did not select an adapter that you have already configured in your BizTalk application. Below is a typical connection string: APIKey=keymz3adb53RqsU;BaseId=appxxN2fe34r3rjdG7;TableNames=Table1,...;ViewNames=Table1.View1,...;

    APIKey, BaseId and TableNames parameters are required to connect to Airtable. ViewNames is an optional parameter where views of the tables may be specified.

    • APIKey : API Key of your account. To obtain this value, after logging in go to Account. In API section click Generate API key.
    • BaseId : Id of your base. To obtain this value, it is in the same section as the APIKey. Click on Airtable API, or navigate to https://airtable.com/api and select a base. In the introduction section you can find "The ID of this base is appxxN2ftedc0nEG7."
    • TableNames : A comma separated list of table names for the selected base. These are the same names of tables as found in the UI.
    • ViewNames : A comma separated list of views in the format of (table.view) names. These are the same names of the views as found in the UI.

  2. In the General Options section on the next page, Schema Information, select Send Port or Receive Location, depending on the adapter configuration.
  3. If you want to generate the schema for the entire result set, select the Single Message option in the Message Mode menu. If you want to generate one schema for each row in the result set, select the Message Per Row option and confirm that the root element of the message is 'row'.
  4. In the Command Type menu, select SQL Command.

  5. In the SQL Command Text box on the Statement Information page, enter an SQL command. (If you have configured a receive location or send port, the SQL command you configured is entered in the box.) This example uses the query below:

    SELECT Id, Column1 FROM SampleTable_1 WHERE Column2 = 'SomeValue'

  6. Confirm the settings in the summary displayed by the wizard and click Finish to generate the schema.xsd file.

Processing Schemas

To use schemas in a simple BizTalk application, see the tutorial.