Connect to Certinia Data from Blazor Apps

Blazor is a framework for developing modern, client-side web UIs using .NET technology. Instead of coding in JavaScript, developers can use the familiar C# language and .NET libraries to build app UIs.

The CData ADO.NET Provider for Certinia can be used with standard ADO.NET interfaces, such as LINQ and Entity Framework, to interact with live Certinia data. Since Blazor supports .NET Core, developers can use CData ADO.NET Providers in Blazor apps. In this article, we will guide you to build a simple Blazor app that talks to Certinia using standard SQL queries.

Install the CData ADO.NET Provider for Certinia

CData ADO.NET Providers allow users to access Certinia just like they would access SQL Server, using simple SQL queries.

Install the Certinia ADO.NET Data Provider from the CData website or from NuGet. Search NuGet for "Certinia ADO.NET Data Provider."

Create a Certinia-Connected Blazor App

Start by creating a Blazor project that references the CData ADO.NET Provider for Certinia

1. Create a Blazor project on Visual Studio.
2. From the Solution Explorer, right click Dependencies, then click Add Project Reference.
3. In the Reference Manager, click the Browse button, and choose the .dll file of the installed ADO.NET Provider (e.g. System.Data.CData.Certinia.dll, typically located at C:\Program Files\CData\CData ADO.NET Provider for Certinia\lib etstandard2.0).

SELECT Certinia Data from the Blazor App

1. Open the Index.razor file from the Project page.
2. In a CertiniaConnection object, set the connection string:

   There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Certinia: login credentials, SSO, and OAuth.

   Authenticating with a Login and Token

   Set the User and Password to your login credentials. Additionally, set the SecurityToken. By default, the SecurityToken is required, but you can make it optional by allowing a range of trusted IP addresses.

   To disable the security token:

   1. Log in to Certinia and enter "Network Access" in the Quick Find box in the setup section.
   2. Add your IP address to the list of trusted IP addresses.

   To obtain the security token:

   1. Open the personal information page on certinia.com.
   2. Click the link to reset your security token. The token will be emailed to you.
   3. Specify the security token in the SecurityToken connection property or append it to the Password.

   Authenticating with OAuth

   If you do not have access to the user name and password or do not want to require them, use the OAuth user consent flow. See the OAuth section in the Help for an authentication guide.

   Connecting to Certinia Sandbox Accounts

   Set UseSandbox to true (false by default) to use a Certinia sandbox account. Ensure that you specify a sandbox user name in User.

   For example: User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Security Token=myToken;

3. The code below creates a simple Blazor app for displaying Certinia data, using standard SQL to query Certinia just like SQL Server.

         @page "/"
         @using System.Data;
         @using System.Data.CData.Certinia;
         
         <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
         
         Welcome to your Data app.
         
         <div class="row">
             <div class="col-12">
         
                 @using (CertiniaConnection connection = new CertiniaConnection(
                   "User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Security Token=myToken;"))
                 {
                     var sql = "SELECT BillingState, Name FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'Floppy Disks'";
                     var results = new DataTable();
         
                     CertiniaDataAdapter dataAdapter = new CertiniaDataAdapter(sql, connection);
                     dataAdapter.Fill(results);
         
                     <table class="table table-bordered">
                         <thead class="thead-light">
                             <tr>
                                 @foreach (DataColumn item in results.Rows[0].Table.Columns)
                                 {
                                     <th scope="col">@item.ColumnName</th>
                                 }
                             </tr>
                         </thead>
                         <tbody>
                             @foreach (DataRow row in results.Rows)
                             {
                                 <tr>
                                     @foreach (var column in row.ItemArray)
                                     {
                                         <td>@column.ToString()</td>
                                     }
                                 </tr>
                             }
                         </tbody>
                     </table>
                 }
             </div>
         </div>
       

4. Rebuild and run the project. The ADO.NET Provider renders Certinia data as an HTML table in the Blazor app.

   At this point, you have a Certinia-connected Blazor app, capable of working with live Certinia data just like you would work with a SQL Server instance. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working with live Certinia data in your Blazor apps today.