Create Bright Data-Connected Enterprise Applications in OutSystems

OutSystems is a low-code platform which provides the tools for companies to developer, deploy, and manage omnichannel enterprise applications. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Bright Data data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Bright Data in Connect AI and build a simple app from Bright Data data in OutSystems.

The CData Connect AI provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Bright Data, allowing you to build reports from live Bright Data data in OutSystems — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you create applications to work with data, OutSystems generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Bright Data, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Bright Data data.

Configure Bright Data Connectivity for OutSystems

Connectivity to Bright Data from OutSystems is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Bright Data data from OutSystems, we start by creating and configuring a Bright Data connection.

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

2. Select "Bright Data" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Bright Data.

   Using API Key Authentication

   To use the Bright Data API, you need an API key from the Bright Data Control Panel. Navigate to Account Settings > API to generate or retrieve your API key.

   After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
   • APIKey: Set this to your Bright Data API key from the Control Panel.

   Example connection string:

   Profile=C:\profiles\BrightData.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key"
   

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Bright Data Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on 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 personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Bright Data data from OutSystems.

Connect to Bright Data from OutSystems

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from OutSystems to create a new Bright Data database connection.

1. Open OutSystems Service Studio
2. Click the gear icon to open Environment Management in the Service Center
3. Click Administration and select "Database Connections"
4. Click "New Database Connection"
5. Configure the database connection:
   • Name: name the connection (e.g. CData Connect AI Bright Data)
   • DBMS: SQL Server / Azure SQL
   • Username: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: the PAT for the Connect AI user
   • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Schema: the name of your Bright Data connection (e.g. API1)
   
6. Click "Test Connection"
7. Click "Create"

Map Bright Data Tables or Views to Entities in an Extension Module

Once you create the database connection for Bright Data, you can create an extension that maps the tables or views to OutSystems entities. If you have not already done so, create an Application in Service Studio.

1. Open the Service Studio and open the existing Application
2. Click "Add Module," set the "Module Name" (e.g. api_db_extension), set "Module Type" to "Extension," and click "Create Module"
3. In Integration Studio, connect to your environment
4. Right-click "Entities" in the extension tree and select "Connect to External Table or View..."
5. Follow the steps in the wizard, selecting the tables and views you wish to work with
6. In the Integration Studio, click "1-Click Publish"
7. In the "1-Click Publish" wizard, click "Configure" when the process completes
   • In the Service Center, associate the logical database name of the extension to the database connection that the extension will use and click "Apply"
8. In your application, click "Manage Dependencies..."
9. Add a dependency to the Extension and select the Entities that you will use in your application

At this point, you can access and work with Bright Data data just like you would with the standard OutSystems entities.

Get CData Connect AI

With Connect AI and OutSystems, you can easily build Bright Data-connected applications. Request a free trial of Connect AI and start working with Bright Data data in OutSystems today.