Connect to FormSite 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 API Driver for JDBC, Denodo users can work with live FormSite data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article explains how to create a virtual data source for FormSite in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live FormSite data. When you issue complex SQL queries to FormSite, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to FormSite 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 FormSite data using native data types.

Create the FormSite Virtual Port

To connect to live FormSite 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 API Driver for JDBC 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 API Driver for JDBC\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-api-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.: api
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-api-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver

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

     jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\FormSite.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;ServerNumber=your_server_number;UserDirectory=your_user_directory';

     

     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 FormSite JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     	java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
     	

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

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

     FormSite API Profile Settings

     Log into your Formsite account and visit the Admin Portal to generate or retrieve your API key. Your

     ServerNumber

     is the numeric part of your server URL and

     UserDirectory

     is your account's directory path.
     
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View FormSite Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

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

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.API).
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 FormSite 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_api_formitems) 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_api_formitems 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 FormSite data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying FormSite in the Denodo Data Catalog.

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