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Get the Report →Connect to BigQuery Data from PowerBuilder via JDBC
This article demonstrates how to access BigQuery data from PowerBuilder using the BigQuery JDBC Driver.
The CData JDBC driver for BigQuery is a standards-based control that can be used from any platform or development technology that supports JDBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for BigQuery in PowerBuilder.
This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for BigQuery to perform reads and writes.
About BigQuery Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live Google BigQuery data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Simplify access to BigQuery with broad out-of-the-box support for authentication schemes, including OAuth, OAuth JWT, and GCP Instance.
- Enhance data workflows with Bi-directional data access between BigQuery and other applications.
- Perform key BigQuery actions like starting, retrieving, and canceling jobs; deleting tables; or insert job loads through SQL stored procedures.
Most CData customers are using Google BigQuery as their data warehouse and so use CData solutions to migrate business data from separate sources into BigQuery for comprehensive analytics. Other customers use our connectivity to analyze and report on their Google BigQuery data, with many customers using both solutions.
For more details on how CData enhances your Google BigQuery experience, check out our blog post: https://www.cdata.com/blog/what-is-bigquery
Getting Started
Connect to BigQuery Data from PowerBuilder
Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for BigQuery. You can use a database profile to save connection properties. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.
Add the driver JAR to the PowerBuilder classpath. Set the CLASSPATH system environment variable to the path to the driver JAR, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
Note: If you are using PowerBuilder Classic, you can also add the path to the driver JAR by clicking Tools -> System Options -> Java.
- Click Tools -> Database Painter.
- Right-click the JDBC node and click New Profile.
- In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
- Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
- Driver Name: Enter the class name of the driver, cdata.jdbc.googlebigquery.GoogleBigQueryDriver
- URL: Enter the JDBC URL.
Google uses the OAuth authentication standard. To access Google APIs on behalf of individual users, you can use the embedded credentials or you can register your own OAuth app.
OAuth also enables you to use a service account to connect on behalf of users in a Google Apps domain. To authenticate with a service account, register an application to obtain the OAuth JWT values.
In addition to the OAuth values, specify the DatasetId and ProjectId. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the BigQuery JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.googlebigquery.jar
Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard. A typical JDBC URL is below:
jdbc:googlebigquery:DataSetId=MyDataSetId;ProjectId=MyProjectId;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
- To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using BigQuery Data with PowerBuilder Controls
You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to JDBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve BigQuery data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:
SQLCA.DBMS = "JDBC"
SQLCA.AutoCommit = False
SQLCA.DBParm = "Driver='cdata.jdbc.googlebigquery.GoogleBigQueryDriver',URL='jdbc:googlebigquery:DataSetId=MyDataSetId;ProjectId=MyProjectId;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_orders.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_orders.Retrieve();