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Connect to live data from Coinbase with the API Driver

Connect to Coinbase

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Build a Simple VCL Application for Coinbase Data


How to build a simple VCL Application to view Coinbase data in RAD Studio using the CData ODBC Driver for Coinbase.

Embarcadero RAD Studio provides a development environment for Delphi and C++Builder applications. With the CData ODBC Driver for Coinbase, you gain access to live Coinbase data within RAD Studio, abstracting the data into tables, views, and stored procedures that can be used to retrieve Coinbase data. This article will walk through connecting to Coinbase and creating a simple VCL application with the Form Designer.

Create a Connection to Coinbase Data

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the Coinbase Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Coinbase.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Coinbase (see below).

Coinbase API Profile Settings

Coinbase uses OAuth-based authentication.

First you need to register an OAuth app with Coinbase. This is done from your account under 'Settings' > 'API Access' > 'New OAuth2 Application'.

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

  • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OAuthClientId: Set this to the ClientID that is specified in you app settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the ClientSecret that is specified in you app settings.
  • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.

You can then follow the steps below to use the Data Explorer to create a FireDAC connection to Coinbase data.

  1. In a new VCL Forms application, expand the FireDAC node in the Data Explorer.
  2. Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
  3. Click Add New Connection.
  4. Enter a name for the connection.
  5. In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for Coinbase.

Create VCL Applications with Connectivity to Coinbase Data

Follow the procedure below to start executing queries to Coinbase data from a simple VCL application that displays the results of a query in a grid.

  1. Drop a TFDConnection component onto the form and set the following properties:

    • ConnectionDefName: Select the FireDAC connection to Coinbase data.
    • Connected: Select True from the menu and, in the dialog that appears, enter your credentials.

  2. Drop a TFDQuery component onto the form and set the properties below:

    • Connection: Set this property to the TFDConnection component, if this component is not already specified.

    • SQL: Click the button in the SQL property and enter a query. For example:

      SELECT Id, Amount FROM Deposits WHERE Committed = 'true'
    • Active: Set this property to true.

  3. Drop a TDataSource component onto the form and set the following property:

    • DataSet: In the menu for this property, select the name of the TFDQuery component.

  4. Drop a TDBGrid control onto the form and set the following property:

    • DataSource: Select the name of the TDataSource.
  5. Drop a TFDGUIxWaitCursor onto the form — this is required to avoid a run-time error.

You now have an executable application that displays the results of the SQL Query set in the TFDQuery object.