How to Query Foursquare Data in MySQL Workbench

You can use the SQL Gateway from the ODBC Driver for Foursquare to query Foursquare data through a MySQL interface. Follow the procedure below to start the MySQL remoting service of the SQL Gateway and work with live Foursquare data in MySQL Workbench.

Connect to Foursquare 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.

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';

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to Foursquare data as a virtual MySQL database. You will configure a MySQL remoting service that listens for MySQL requests from clients. The service can be configured in the SQL Gateway UI.

Query Foursquare from MySQL Workbench

The steps below outline connecting to the virtual Foursquare database created in the SQL Gateway from MySQL Workbench and issuing basic queries to work with live Foursquare data.

Connect to Foursquare through the SQL Gateway

1. In MySQL Workbench, click to add a new MySQL connection.
2. Name the connection (CData SQL Gateway for Foursquare).
3. Set the Hostname, Port, and Username parameters to connect to the SQL Gateway.
4. Click Store in Vault to set and store the password.
5. Click Test Connection to ensure the connection is configured properly and click OK.

NOTE: When we refer to Username and Password, we mean the credentials for the user(s) created for the SQL Gateway.

Query Foursquare Data

1. Open the connection you just created (CData SQL Gateway for Foursquare).
2. Click File -> New Query Tab.
3. Write a SQL query to retrieve Foursquare data, like SELECT * FROM `CData API Sys`.Autocomplete;

With access to live Foursquare data from MySQL Workbench, you can easily work with Foursquare, just like you would a MySQL database. Get started now with a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for ODBC and the CData SQL Gateway.