How to Access Anaplan Data Using Entity Framework

Microsoft Entity Framework serves as an object-relational mapping framework for working with data represented as objects. Although Visual Studio offers the ADO.NET Entity Data Model wizard to automatically generate the Entity Model, this model-first approach may present challenges when your data source undergoes changes or when you require greater control over entity operations. In this article, we will delve into the code-first approach for accessing Anaplan data through the CData ADO.NET Provider, providing you with more flexibility and control.

1. Open Visual Studio and create a new Windows Form Application. This article uses a C# project with .NET 4.5.
2. Run the command 'Install-Package EntityFramework' in the Package Manger Console in Visual Studio to install the latest release of Entity Framework.

3. Modify the App.config file in the project to add a reference to the Anaplan Entity Framework 6 assembly and the connection string.

   Authenticating to Anaplan

   The driver supports authenticating with Basic, Certificate, or OAuth. In every case, set Region to the region where your Anaplan account data is hosted (e.g., US1, which is the default).

   Using Basic Authentication

   Set AuthScheme to Basic, then supply your Anaplan User and Password. If your workspace uses single sign-on (SSO), you must be assigned as an Exception User to use Basic authentication.

   Using Certificate Authentication

   Set AuthScheme to Certificate, then supply the Certificate, CertificateType, and PrivateKey properties (and the matching CertificatePassword / PrivateKeyPassword if either is encrypted). The certificate must be a CA-issued X.509 certificate registered with your Anaplan tenant administrator.

   Using OAuth Authentication

   Register a custom OAuth application in Anaplan, then set the following properties:

   • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
   • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
   • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your application.
   • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH to have the driver manage the OAuth token exchange and refresh automatically.

   See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

   
   <configuration>
      ... 
     <connectionStrings>
       <add name="AnaplanContext" connectionString="Offline=False;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;Region=US1;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;" providerName="System.Data.CData.Anaplan" />
     </connectionStrings>
     <entityFramework>
       <providers>
          ... 
         <provider invariantName="System.Data.CData.Anaplan" type="System.Data.CData.Anaplan.AnaplanProviderServices, System.Data.CData.Anaplan.Entities.EF6" />
       </providers>
     <entityFramework>
   </configuration>
   </code> 
   

4. Add a reference to System.Data.CData.Anaplan.Entities.EF6.dll, located in the lib -> 4.0 subfolder in the installation directory.
5. Build the project at this point to ensure everything is working correctly. Once that's done, you can start coding using Entity Framework.
6. Add a new .cs file to the project and add a class to it. This will be your database context, and it will extend the DbContext class. In the example, this class is named AnaplanContext. The following code example overrides the OnModelCreating method to make the following changes:
   • Remove PluralizingTableNameConvention from the ModelBuilder Conventions.
   • Remove requests to the MigrationHistory table.

   
   using System.Data.Entity;
   using System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure;
   using System.Data.Entity.ModelConfiguration.Conventions;
   
   class AnaplanContext : DbContext {
     public AnaplanContext() { }
   
     protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
     {
       // To remove the requests to the Migration History table
       Database.SetInitializer<AnaplanContext>(null);  
       // To remove the plural names    
       modelBuilder.Conventions.Remove<PluralizingTableNameConvention>();
     }  
   }
   

7. Create another .cs file and name it after the Anaplan entity you are retrieving, for example, Sales. In this file, define both the Entity and the Entity Configuration, which will resemble the example below:

   
   using System.Data.Entity.ModelConfiguration;
   using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.Schema;
   
   [System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.Schema.Table("Sales")]
   public class Sales {
     [System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.Key] 
     public System.String Region { get; set; }
     public System.String Product { get; set; }
   }
       
   

8. Now that you have created an entity, add the entity to your context class:

   
   public DbSet<Sales> Sales { set; get; }
   

9. With the context and entity finished, you are now ready to query the data in a separate class. For example:

   AnaplanContext context = new AnaplanContext();
   context.Configuration.UseDatabaseNullSemantics = true;
   var query = from line in context.Sales select line;