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CData Connect Server

Integrate Real-Time Access to Google Cloud Storage in SAPUI5 MVC Apps



Use the built-in ODataModel class in SAPUI5 to create Web apps that reflect changes to Google Cloud Storage data in real time.

In this article we show how to use the CData Connect Server and with the ADO.NET Provider for Google Cloud Storage (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers) to write SAPUI5 apps that leverage the capabilities of the Google Cloud Storage API, without writing to a back-end database. The Connect Server is a lightweight Web application that runs on your server and produces OData feeds of Google Cloud Storage data. OData is the standard for real-time data access over the Web and has built-in support in SAPUI5 and OpenUI5.

Configuring Connect Server

To work with live Google Cloud Storage data in our SAPUI5 app, we need to connect to Google Cloud Storage from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the Google Cloud Storage data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to Google Cloud Storage from SAPUI5 through Connect Server.

  1. Click Users -> Add
  2. Configure a User
  3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user

Connect to Google Cloud Storage from Connect Server

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

  1. Open Connect Server and click Connections
  2. Select "Google Cloud Storage" from Available Data Sources
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Google Cloud Storage.

    Authenticate with a User Account

    You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. After setting InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH, you are ready to connect.

    When you connect, the Google Cloud Storage OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions, then the OAuth process completes

    Authenticate with a Service Account

    Service accounts have silent authentication, without user authentication in the browser. You can also use a service account to delegate enterprise-wide access scopes.

    You need to create an OAuth application in this flow. See the Help documentation for more information. After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

    • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH.
    • OAuthJWTCertType: Set this to "PFXFILE".
    • OAuthJWTCert: Set this to the path to the .p12 file you generated.
    • OAuthJWTCertPassword: Set this to the password of the .p12 file.
    • OAuthJWTCertSubject: Set this to "*" to pick the first certificate in the certificate store.
    • OAuthJWTIssuer: In the service accounts section, click Manage Service Accounts and set this field to the email address displayed in the service account Id field.
    • OAuthJWTSubject: Set this to your enterprise Id if your subject type is set to "enterprise" or your app user Id if your subject type is set to "user".
    • ProjectId: Set this to the Id of the project you want to connect to.

    The OAuth flow for a service account then completes.

  4. Click Save Changes
  5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).

Add Google Cloud Storage OData Endpoints in Connect Server

After connecting to Google Cloud Storage, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).

  1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
  2. Select the Google Cloud Storage database
  3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
  4. (Optional) Edit the resource to select specific fields and more
  5. Save the settings

(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)

When accessing and connecting to multiple domains from an application such as Ajax, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.

  • Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
  • Allow all domains without '*': ON
  • Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
  • Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization

Save the changes to the settings.

Create the View

In this article the user views and interacts with Google Cloud Storage data through an SAPUI5 table control. Table columns will be automatically detected from the metadata retrieved from the Connect Server's API endpoint. We define the following table in a separate View.view.xml file:


<mvc:View
  controllerName="sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Controller"
  xmlns="sap.ui.table"
  xmlns:mvc="sap.ui.core.mvc"
  xmlns:u="sap.ui.unified"
  xmlns:c="sap.ui.core"
  xmlns:m="sap.m">
  <m:Page
    showHeader="false"
    enableScrolling="true"
    class="sapUiContentPadding">
    <m:content>
      <Table
        id="table"
        selectionMode="MultiToggle"
        visibleRowCount="10"
        enableSelectAll="false"
        rows="{/Buckets}"
        threshold="15"
        enableBusyIndicator="true"
        columns="{
          path: 'meta>/dataServices/schema/[${namespace}===\'CData\']/entityType/[${name}===\'Buckets\']/property',
          factory: '.columnFactory'
        }">
        <toolbar>
          <m:Toolbar>
            <m:Title text="Google Cloud Storage Buckets"></m:Title>
          </m:Toolbar>
        </toolbar>
        <noData>
          <m:BusyIndicator class="sapUiMediumMargin"/>
        </noData>
      </Table>
    </m:content>
  </m:Page>
</mvc:View>

Create the Model and Controller

In SAPUI5, you do not need to write any OData queries; an ODataModel instance handles the application's data access commands. The Connect Server then translates the queries into Google Cloud Storage API calls.

The controller processes user input and represents information to the user through a view. Define the controller in a new file, Controller.controller.js. Instantiate the model in the onInit function -- you will need to replace the placeholder values for the serviceUrl to the Connect Server as well as the Authorization header.

For the Authorization header, you will keep the "Basic" as shown and then use a Base64 encoder (such as this one) to generate a token to fill in the second part. You will use the login information for Connect Server in the following format to generate your encoded token -> User:Authtoken

sap.ui.define([
  "sap/ui/core/mvc/Controller",
  "sap/ui/model/odata/v2/ODataModel",
  "sap/ui/model/json/JSONModel",
  "sap/ui/table/Column",
  "sap/m/Text",
], function(Controller, ODataModel, JSONModel, Column, Text ) {
  "use strict";
  

  return Controller.extend("sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Controller", {
    
    onInit : function () {
      
      var oView = this.getView();
      var oDataModel = new ODataModel({
        serviceUrl: "http://localhost:8080/odata.rsc/",  
        headers: {
            "Authorization":"Basic your-token-here>"
        }
    });
      
      oDataModel.setUseBatch(false);
      oDataModel.getMetaModel().loaded().then(function(){
        oView.setModel(oDataModel.getMetaModel(), "meta");
      });
      oView.setModel(oDataModel);
      
      var oTable = oView.byId("table");
      var oBinding = oTable.getBinding("rows");
      var oBusyIndicator = oTable.getNoData();
      oBinding.attachDataRequested(function(){
      oTable.setNoData(oBusyIndicator);
      });
      oBinding.attachDataReceived(function(){
        oTable.setNoData(null); //use default again ("no data" in case no data is available)
      });
    },
    
    onExit : function () {
    },
    
    columnFactory : function(sId, oContext) {
      var oModel = this.getView().getModel();
      var sName = oContext.getProperty("name");
      var sType = oContext.getProperty("type");
      var iLen = oContext.getProperty("maxLength");
      iLen = iLen ? parseInt(iLen, 10) : 10;
      
      return new Column(sId, {
        sortProperty: sName, 
        filterProperty: sName,
        width: (iLen > 9 ? (iLen > 50 ? 15 : 10) : 5) + "rem",
        label: new sap.m.Label({text: "{/#Buckets/" + sName + "/@name}"}),
        hAlign: sType && sType.indexOf("Decimal") >= 0 ? "End" : "Begin",
        template: new Text({text: {path: sName}})
      });
    }
    
  });

});

Describe Application Logic

Create a component that contains the resources of your application. Define the following in Component.js:


sap.ui.define([
  'sap/ui/core/UIComponent'
], function(UIComponent) {
  "use strict";

  return UIComponent.extend("sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Component", {
    metadata : {
      rootView : "sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.View",
      dependencies : {
        libs : [
          "sap.ui.table",
          "sap.ui.unified",
          "sap.m"
        ]
      },

      config : {
        sample : {
          stretch : true,
          files : [
            "View.view.xml",
            "Controller.controller.js"
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  });

});

Bootstrap OpenUI5 and Launch

To complete the MVC application, simply add the bootstrap and initialization code. Add these directly to index.html:

<!DOCTYPE HTML>

<html>
<head>
  <meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge">
  <meta charset="utf-8"> 
  <title>Google Cloud Storage Buckets</title>
  
  <script id="sap-ui-bootstrap"
    src="https://openui5.hana.ondemand.com/resources/sap-ui-core.js"
    data-sap-ui-libs="sap.m"
    data-sap-ui-theme="sap_bluecrystal"
    data-sap-ui-xx-bindingSyntax="complex"
    data-sap-ui-preload="async"
    data-sap-ui-compatVersion="edge" 
    data-sap-ui-resourceroots='{"sap.ui.table.sample.OData2": "./", "sap.ui.demo.mock": "mockdata"}'>
  </script>
  
  <!-- application launch configuration -->
  <script>
  
      sap.ui.getCore().attachInit(function() {
        new sap.m.App ({
          pages: [
                new sap.m.Page({
                    title: "Google Cloud Storage Buckets", 
                    enableScrolling : false,
                  content: [ new sap.ui.core.ComponentContainer({
                  height : "100%", name : "sap.ui.table.sample.OData2"
                })]
            })
          ]
      }).placeAt("content");
    });

  </script>
</head> 
  <!-- UI Content -->
<body class="sapUiBody" id="content" role="application">
</body> 
</html>

Setting Up A Web Server

To test the project, we can set up a web server. SAPUI5 has its own mock server, and the documentation for setting it up can be found here: https://sapui5.hana.ondemand.com/sdk/#/topic/50897decc9504b2a875fb41d89fd254a

Alternatively, we can use a NodeJS server, like so:

    var fs = require('fs'), http = require('http');

    http.createServer(function (req, res) {
      fs.readFile(__dirname + req.url, function (err,data) {
        if (err) {
          res.writeHead(404);
          res.end(JSON.stringify(err));
          return;
        }
        res.writeHead(200);
        res.end(data);
      });
    }).listen(3000); //we're using port 3000, but you may use a different one
    

The resulting SAPUI5 table control reflects any changes to a table in the remote Google Cloud Storage data. You can now browse and search current Google Cloud Storage data.

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your Google Cloud Storage data (or data from any of our other supported data sources), sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Server today! For more information on Connect Server and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect page.