DataBind Controls to Oracle Eloqua Reporting Data in C++Builder

The CData ODBC driver for Oracle Eloqua Reporting makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live Oracle Eloqua Reporting data with standard data access components in C++Builder. This article shows how to create a simple visual component library (VCL) application in C++Builder that connects to Oracle Eloqua Reporting data, executes queries, and displays the results in a grid. An additional section shows how to use FireDAC components to execute commands from code.

Create a Connection to Oracle Eloqua Reporting 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.

Oracle Eloqua Reporting supports the following authentication methods:

• Basic authentication (User and Password)
• OAuth 2.0 code grant flow
• OAuth 2.0 password grant flow

Basic Authentication (User and Password)

To perform authentication with a user and password, specify these properties:

• AuthScheme: Basic.
• Company: The company name associated with your Oracle Eloqua Reporting account.
• User: Your login account name.
• Password: Your login password.

OAuth Authentication (Code Grant Flow)

To authenticate with the OAuth code grant flow, you must set AuthScheme to OAuth and create a custom OAuth application. For information about how to create a custom OAuth application, see the Help documentation.

Then set the following properties:

• InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your application.
• OAuthClientSecret: The client secret that was assigned when you registered your application.
• CallbackURL: The redirect URI that was defined when you registered your application.

When you connect, the driver opens Oracle Eloqua Reporting's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. When the access token expires, the driver refreshes it automatically.

OAuth Authentication (Password Grant Flow)

With the OAuth password grant flow, you can use your OAuth application's credentials alongside your user credentials to authenticate without the need to grant permission manually via a browser prompt. You must create an OAuth app (see the Help documentation) to use this authentication method.

Set the following properties:

• AuthScheme: OAuthPassword
• Company: The company's unique identifier.
• User: Your login account name.
• Password: Your login password.
• OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

You can then follow the steps below to use the Data Explorer to create a FireDAC connection to Oracle Eloqua Reporting.

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 Oracle Eloqua Reporting.

Create VCL Applications with Connectivity to Oracle Eloqua Reporting Data

Follow the procedure below to start querying Oracle Eloqua Reporting 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 Oracle Eloqua Reporting.
   • 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 ,  FROM  WHERE  = ''
     

   • 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.

Execute Commands to Oracle Eloqua Reporting with FireDAC Components

You can use the TFDConnection and TFQuery components to execute queries to Oracle Eloqua Reporting data. This section provides Oracle Eloqua Reporting-specific examples of executing queries with the TFQuery component.

Connect to Oracle Eloqua Reporting Data

To connect to the data source, set the Connected property of the TFDConnection component to true. You can set the same properties from code:

FDConnection1->ConnectionDefName = "CData Oracle Eloqua Reporting ODBC Source";
FDConnection1->Connected = true;

To connect the TFDQuery component to Oracle Eloqua Reporting data, set the Connection property of the component. When a TFDQuery component is added at design time, its Connection property is automatically set to point to a TFDConnection on the form, as in the application above.

Create Parameterized Queries

To create a parameterized query, use the following syntax below:

FDQuery1->SQL->Text = "select * from  where  = :";
FDQuery1->ParamByName("")->AsString = "";
FDQuery1->Open();

The example above binds a string-type input parameter by name and then opens the dataset that results.

Prepare the Statement

Preparing statements is costly in system resources and time. The connection must be active and open while a statement is prepared. By default, FireDAC prepares the query to avoid recompiling the same query over and over. To disable statement preparation, set ResourceOptions.DirectExecute to True; for example, when you need to execute a query only once.

Execute a Query

To execute a query that returns a result set, such as a select query, use the Open method. The Open method executes the query, returns the result set, and opens it. The Open method will return an error if the query does not produce a result set.

FDQuery1->SQL->Text = "select * from  where  = :";
FDQuery1->ParamByName("")->AsString = "";
FDQuery1->Open();

Related Articles

Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.

• DataBind Controls to Oracle Eloqua Reporting Data in Delphi
• Viewing Oracle Eloqua Reporting Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer
• Build a Simple VCL Application for Oracle Eloqua Reporting Data