Query Anaplan Data in ColdFusion

The CData JDBC driver for Anaplan seamlessly integrates connectivity to Anaplan data with the rapid development tools in ColdFusion. This article shows how to connect to Anaplan data in ColdFusion and query Anaplan tables.

Create a JDBC Data Source for Anaplan in ColdFusion

The JDBC data source enables you to execute SQL from standard ColdFusion tags like cfquery and CFScript like executeQuery.

1. Copy the driver JAR and .lic file from the installation directory onto the ColdFusion classpath. For example, copy the files into C:\MyColdFusionDirectory\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib. Or, open the Java and JVM page in the ColdFusion Administrator and enter the path to the files in the ColdFusion Class Path box.

   The JAR and license for the driver are located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

   Restart the server after this step.

2. Add the driver as a data source:

   From the ColdFusion administrator interface, expand the Data & Services node and click Data Sources. In the Add New Data Source section, enter a name for the data source and select Other in the Driver menu.

   

3. Populate the driver properties:

   • JDBC URL: Enter connection properties in the JDBC URL. The JDBC URL begins with jdbc:anaplan: and is followed by the connection properties in a semicolon-separated list of name=value pairs.

     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.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Anaplan JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar
     

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     

     A typical JDBC URL is below:

     jdbc:anaplan:OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;Region=US1;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

   • Driver Class: Enter the driver class. The driver class is cdata.jdbc.anaplan.AnaplanDriver.
   • Driver Name: Enter a user-defined name for the driver.
   • Username: Enter the username used to authenticate.
   • Password: Enter the password used to authenticate.

You can now test the connection by enabling the CData Anaplan data source in the Actions column. After reporting a status of OK, the Anaplan data source is ready for use.

Execute Queries

The cfquery tag can pass SQL statements to Anaplan. Use the cfqueryparam tag to create parameterized queries and prevent SQL injection through the query string.

Note: To use the cfquery and cfscript, create a .cfm file. Inside the .cfm file, write the code to execute the query (see below). Place the file directly in the root directory of your web server (e.g., wwwroot in Adobe ColdFusion). Restart the service after placing the file for the changes to take effect.

<cfquery name="AnaplanQuery" dataSource="CDataAnaplan">
  SELECT * FROM Sales WHERE Value = <cfqueryparam value="#Value#" cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar">
</cfquery>
<cfdump var="#AnaplanQuery#">

Below is the equivalent in CFScript:

<cfscript>
result = queryExecute(
  "SELECT * FROM Sales WHERE Value = ?", 
  [
    { value="100", cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar" }
  ],
  { datasource="CDataAnaplan" }
);

writeDump( var= result );
</cfscript> 

You can then make requests to your .cfm like the following:

http://MyServer:8500/query.cfm?Value=100