How to Query Front Data in MySQL Workbench

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

Connect to Front 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.

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

Front API Profile Settings

Generate an API key in Front by navigating to Settings > Plugins & API > API.

Configure the SQL Gateway

See the SQL Gateway Overview to set up connectivity to Front 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 Front from MySQL Workbench

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

Connect to Front through the SQL Gateway

1. In MySQL Workbench, click to add a new MySQL connection.
2. Name the connection (CData SQL Gateway for Front).
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 Front Data

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

With access to live Front data from MySQL Workbench, you can easily work with Front, 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.