Query Google Translate Data in ColdFusion

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Write standard ColdFusion data access code to connect to Google Translate data.

The CData JDBC driver for Google Translate seamlessly integrates connectivity to Google Translate data with the rapid development tools in ColdFusion. This article shows how to connect to Google Translate data in ColdFusion and query Google Translate tables.

Create a JDBC Data Source for Google Translate in ColdFusion

The JDBC data source enables you to execute SQL from standard ColdFusion tags like cfquery and CFScript like executeQuery.

  1. Copy the driver JAR and .lic file from the installation directory onto the ColdFusion classpath. For example, copy the files into C:\MyColdFusionDirectory\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib. Or, open the Java and JVM page in the ColdFusion Administrator and enter the path to the files in the ColdFusion Class Path box.

    The JAR and license for the driver are located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

    Restart the server after this step.

  2. Add the driver as a data source:

    From the ColdFusion administrator interface, expand the Data & Services node and click Data Sources. In the Add New Data Source section, enter a name for the data source and select Other in the Driver menu.

  3. Populate the driver properties:

    • JDBC URL: Enter connection properties in the JDBC URL. The JDBC URL begins with jdbc:api: and is followed by the connection properties in a semicolon-separated list of name=value pairs.

      Authentication

      Google Cloud Translation API requires OAuth 2.0 authentication to ensure secure access to translation services, datasets, glossaries, and adaptive MT resources. This authentication method allows you to securely connect to your Google Cloud project and manage translation resources with proper authorization.

      OAuth 2.0 Setup and Configuration

      Step 1: Create Google Cloud Project and Enable API

      To set up OAuth authentication:

      1. Visit the Google Cloud Console
      2. Create a new project or select an existing project
      3. Note down your Project ID (required for all API calls)
      4. Navigate to "APIs & Services" > "Library"
      5. Search for and enable the "Cloud Translation API"
      6. Go to "APIs & Services" > "Credentials"
      7. Click "Create Credentials" and select "OAuth Client ID"
      8. Configure the OAuth consent screen if prompted
      9. Select "Desktop application" or "Web application" as appropriate
      10. Set the authorized redirect URI (CallbackURL)
      11. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret for use in your connection

      Required Connection Properties

      • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth (required)
      • OAuthClientId: Client ID from Google Cloud Console (required)
      • OAuthClientSecret: Client secret from Google Cloud Console (required)
      • CallbackURL: Redirect URI specified in your OAuth application (required)
      • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH for automatic token management (recommended)
      • ProjectId: Your Google Cloud project ID or project number (required for queries)

      Required OAuth Scopes

      The Google Cloud Translation API Profile requires the following OAuth scope:

      • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-translation - Full access to Cloud Translation API resources including translation, datasets, glossaries, and adaptive MT

      Built-in Connection String Designer

      For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Google Translate 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.

      A typical JDBC URL is below:

      jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\GoogleTranslate.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;
    • Driver Class: Enter the driver class. The driver class is cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver.
    • Driver Name: Enter a user-defined name for the driver.
    • Username: Enter the username used to authenticate.
    • Password: Enter the password used to authenticate.

You can now test the connection by enabling the CData Google Translate data source in the Actions column. After reporting a status of OK, the Google Translate data source is ready for use.

Execute Queries

The cfquery tag can pass SQL statements to Google Translate. Use the cfqueryparam tag to create parameterized queries and prevent SQL injection through the query string.

Note: To use the cfquery and cfscript, create a .cfm file. Inside the .cfm file, write the code to execute the query (see below). Place the file directly in the root directory of your web server (e.g., wwwroot in Adobe ColdFusion). Restart the service after placing the file for the changes to take effect.


<cfquery name="APIQuery" dataSource="CDataAPI">
  SELECT * FROM SupportedLanguages WHERE ProjectId = <cfqueryparam value="#ProjectId#" cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar">
</cfquery>
<cfdump var="#APIQuery#">

Below is the equivalent in CFScript:


<cfscript>
result = queryExecute(
  "SELECT * FROM SupportedLanguages WHERE ProjectId = ?", 
  [
    { value="my-project-12345", cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar" }
  ],
  { datasource="CDataAPI" }
);

writeDump( var= result );
</cfscript> 

You can then make requests to your .cfm like the following:

http://MyServer:8500/query.cfm?ProjectId=my-project-12345

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from Google Translate with the API Driver

Connect to Google Translate