Use the CData ODBC Driver for Google Translate in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for Google Translate, you gain database-like access to live Google Translate data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for Google Translate in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time Google Translate data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Google Translate data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to Google Translate, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Google Translate and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze Google Translate data in SAS.

Connect to Google Translate as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Google Translate follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Google Translate must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

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

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

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

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Google Translate in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData API Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Google Translate
Description = My Description
Profile = C:\profiles\GoogleTranslate.apip
AuthScheme = OAuth
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH
OAuthClientId = your_client_id
OAuthClientSecret = your_client_secret
CallbackUrl = your_callback_url

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Google Translate Library in SAS

Connect to Google Translate in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for Google Translate.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK.

Create a View from a Google Translate Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live Google Translate data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK.
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc.
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK.

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
     create view supportedlanguages_view as
     select 
       languagecode, 
       displayname 
     from 
       odbclib.supportedlanguages 
     where 
       ProjectId = 'my-project-12345';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize Google Translate Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Google Translate data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the Google Translate SupportedLanguages data.

   proc print data=supportedlanguages;
     title "Google Translate SupportedLanguages Data";
   run;
   

   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the SupportedLanguages data.

   proc gchart data=supportedlanguages;
     pie languagecode / sumvar=displayname
         value=arrow
         percent=arrow
         noheading
         percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
         slice=inside value=none
         name='SupportedLanguagesChart';
   run;