Connect to CSV Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for CSV, Denodo users can work with live CSV data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article walks through creating a virtual data source for CSV in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live CSV data. When you issue complex SQL queries to CSV, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to CSV and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze CSV data using native data types.

Create the CSV Virtual Port

To connect to live CSV data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for CSV installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for CSV\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-csv-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC.
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: csv
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-csv-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.csv.CSVDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:csv:DataSource=MyCSVFilesFolder;

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the CSV JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.csv.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     The DataSource property must be set to a valid local folder name.

     Also, specify the IncludeFiles property to work with text files having extensions that differ from .csv, .tab, or .txt. Specify multiple file extensions in a comma-separated list. You can also set Extended Properties compatible with the Microsoft Jet OLE DB 4.0 driver. Alternatively, you can provide the format of text files in a Schema.ini file.

     Set UseRowNumbers to true if you are deleting or updating in CSV. This will create a new column with the name RowNumber which will be used as key for that table.

6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View CSV Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of CSV data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.CSV).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import.
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the CSV data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_csv_customer) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_csv_customer CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

7. Click Execute to view the data.

With the base view created, you can now work with live CSV data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying CSV in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for CSV and start working with your live CSV data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.