Import Real-Time Foursquare Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Foursquare data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData API Driver for ODBC, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Foursquare data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Foursquare data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData API Driver for ODBC and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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 process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Using API Key Authentication

Foursquare Places API uses Service Key (Bearer token) authentication. To obtain a Service Key:

  1. Go to the Foursquare Developer Console at https://foursquare.com/developers/
  2. Create a new project or select an existing one
  3. Navigate to the API Keys section
  4. Generate a new Service Key for the Places API

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
  • ServiceKey: Set this to your Foursquare Service Key obtained from the Developer Console.
  • XPlacesApiVersion: (Optional) Set this to the API version date. Defaults to 2025-06-17.

Example APIKey connection string

Profile=C:\profiles\Foursquare.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_personal_access_token';

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Foursquare Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services.
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button.
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Foursquare Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration.
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataFoursquareODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

                
        <cfquery name="FoursquareQuery" dataSource="CDataFoursquareODBC"> 
          SELECT * FROM Autocomplete 
        </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
                
          <cftable  
          query = "FoursquareQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 

          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=2 text=""/> 

          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=15 text=""/> 

          ...

        </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
                
        <html> 
        <head><title>CData Software | Foursquare Autocomplete Table Demo </title></head> 
        <body> 
        <cfoutput>#ucase("Foursquare Autocomplete Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
        <cfquery name="FoursquareQuery" dataSource="CDataFoursquareODBC"> 

          SELECT * FROM Autocomplete 

        </cfquery> 
        <cftable  
          query = "FoursquareQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 
          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=2 text=""/> 

          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=15 text=""/> 

          ...

        </cftable> 
        </body> 

        </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Foursquare data!

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Foursquare and start building Foursquare-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

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