Query Microsoft Exchange Data through ODBC in Node.js



Use node-odbc to execute SQL queries against Microsoft Exchange data from Node.js.

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code outside of a browser. With the CData ODBC Driver for Exchange, you can access live Microsoft Exchange data from Node.js apps and scripts. In this article, we walk through installing node-odbc and the required tools to create a simple Node.js app with access to live Microsoft Exchange data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Microsoft Exchange data in Node.js. When you issue complex SQL queries from Node.js to Microsoft Exchange, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Microsoft Exchange and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to Microsoft Exchange Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

Specify the User and Password to connect to Exchange. Additionally, specify the address of the Exchange server you are connecting to and the Platform associated with the server.

Building node-odbc

In order to connect to Microsoft Exchange through the CData ODBC Driver, you need to build node-odbc manually (after installing the required tools).

Installing the Required Tools

The following commands install the tools required to build node-odbc (note the -g parameter, which installs the tools globally).

npm i -g windows-build-tools
npm i -g node-gyp

Building node-odbc

After installing the required tools, create a directory for the Node.js app and install odbc (which builds the binary for us to use in our Node.js script).

mkdir nodeodbc
cd nodeodbc
npm i -g node

Querying Microsoft Exchange from Node.js

With the ODBC Driver installed, a DSN Configured, and node-odbc built, we are ready to query live Microsoft Exchange data from a Node.js app. The sample code below connects to a specific DSN and queries the Contacts table.

myscript.js

const odbc = require('odbc');

async function queryExchange() {
    const connection = await odbc.connect(`DSN=CData Exchange Source`);
    const data = await connection.query('SELECT GivenName, Size FROM Contacts');
    console.log(data);
}

queryExchange();

Once you write the app, use node to execute the script:

node myscript.js

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Exchange and start working with your live Microsoft Exchange data in Node.js. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

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Learn more:

Microsoft Exchange Icon Exchange ODBC Driver

The Microsoft Exchange ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live Microsoft Exchange data, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Exchange messages, folders, calendars, etc. like you would a database - read, write, and send E-mails through a standard ODBC Driver interface.