How to Visualize BigCommerce Data in Python with pandas via CData Connect AI

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems more effectively. With the CData Connect AI Python SDK, the pandas and Matplotlib modules, you can build BigCommerce-connected Python applications and scripts for visualizing BigCommerce data. This article shows how to connect to Connect AI and use the pandas and Matplotlib built-in functions to query BigCommerce data and visualize the results.

The Connect AI Python SDK (cdata-connect-ai) is a DB-API 2.0 (PEP 249) compliant client, so pandas can read query results directly from the SDK connection object. There is no driver to install per source and no SQLAlchemy engine to configure: connect with a Personal Access Token and pass the connection straight to pandas.read_sql.

Connect to BigCommerce in Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

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

2. Select "BigCommerce" from the Add Connection panel

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

   BigCommerce authentication is based on the standard OAuth flow. To authenticate, you must initially create an app via the Big Commerce developer platform where you can obtain an OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL. These three parameters will be set as connection properties to your driver.

   Additionally, in order to connect to your BigCommerce Store, you will need your StoreId. To find your Store Id please follow these steps:

   1. Log in to your BigCommerce account.
   2. From the Home Page, select Advanced Settings > API Accounts.
   3. Click Create API Account.
   4. A text box named API Path will appear on your screen.
   5. Inside you can see a URL of the following structure: https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{Store Id}/v3.
   6. As demonstrated above, your Store Id will be between the 'stores/' and '/v3' path paramters.
   7. Once you have retrieved your Store Id you can either click Cancel or proceed in creating an API Account in case you do not have one already.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update the user-based permissions.

Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT)

The Python SDK authenticates to Connect AI with your account email and a Personal Access Token (PAT). It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each application to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click 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 PAT is only visible at creation, so copy it and store it securely.

Install Required Modules

Install the SDK (with the pandas extra) and Matplotlib using the pip utility:

pip install "cdata-connect-ai[full]"
pip install matplotlib

Visualize BigCommerce Data in Python

Import the modules, then connect to Connect AI with your account email and PAT. Identifiers are three-part: <Connection>.<Schema>.<Table>, where the connection name defaults to the source name (for example, BigCommerce1).

import pandas
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)

Query BigCommerce with pandas

Use the read_sql function from pandas to execute a SQL statement and store the result set in a DataFrame. Pass the SDK connection directly, no engine required.

df = pandas.read_sql(
    "SELECT FirstName, LastName "
    "FROM [BigCommerce1].[BigCommerce].[Customers] "
    "WHERE FirstName = 'Bob'",
    conn,
)

Note: pandas may print a UserWarning stating that it only officially supports SQLAlchemy connectables. This is expected when passing a DB-API connection directly—the query runs correctly and the warning is safe to ignore.

Visualize BigCommerce Data

With the query results stored in a DataFrame, use the plot function to build a chart. The show method displays the chart in a new window.

df.plot(kind="bar", x="FirstName", y="LastName")
plt.show()

conn.close()

More Information and Free Trial

Now you can read live BigCommerce data into pandas through the CData Connect AI Python SDK. For more information on connecting to BigCommerce (and hundreds of other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live BigCommerce data in Python.

Full Source Code

import pandas
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)

df = pandas.read_sql(
    "SELECT FirstName, LastName "
    "FROM [BigCommerce1].[BigCommerce].[Customers] "
    "WHERE FirstName = 'Bob'",
    conn,
)

df.plot(kind="bar", x="FirstName", y="LastName")
plt.show()

conn.close()