Connect to Facebook 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 Facebook can be used with standard ADO.NET interfaces, such as LINQ and Entity Framework, to interact with live Facebook 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 Facebook using standard SQL queries.

Install the CData ADO.NET Provider for Facebook

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

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

Create a Facebook-Connected Blazor App

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

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.Facebook.dll, typically located at C:\Program Files\CData\CData ADO.NET Provider for Facebook\lib etstandard2.0).

SELECT Facebook Data from the Blazor App

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

   Most tables require user authentication as well as application authentication. Facebook uses the OAuth authentication standard. To authenticate to Facebook, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can obtain your own by registering an app with Facebook.

   See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

   For example:

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

         @page "/"
         @using System.Data;
         @using System.Data.CData.Facebook;
         
         <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
         
         Welcome to your Data app.
         
         <div class="row">
             <div class="col-12">
         
                 @using (FacebookConnection connection = new FacebookConnection(
                   ""))
                 {
                     var sql = "SELECT FromName, LikesCount FROM Posts";
                     var results = new DataTable();
         
                     FacebookDataAdapter dataAdapter = new FacebookDataAdapter(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 Facebook data as an HTML table in the Blazor app.

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