Use Dash to Build Web Apps on HubDB Data via CData Connect AI

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems more effectively. With the CData Connect AI Python SDK, the pandas module, and the Dash framework, you can build HubDB-connected web applications for HubDB data. This article shows how to connect to Connect AI and use pandas and Dash to build a simple web app for visualizing HubDB data.

The Connect AI Python SDK (cdata-connect-ai) is a DB-API 2.0 (PEP 249) compliant client, so pandas can read query results directly from the SDK connection object. There is no driver to install per source: connect with a Personal Access Token and build your app.

Connect to HubDB in Connect AI

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

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "HubDB" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to HubDB.

   There are two authentication methods available for connecting to HubDB data source: OAuth Authentication with a public HubSpot application and authentication with a Private application token.

   Using a Custom OAuth App

   AuthScheme must be set to "OAuth" in all OAuth flows. Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

   Follow the steps below to register an application and obtain the OAuth client credentials:

   1. Log into your HubSpot app developer account.
      • Note that it must be an app developer account. Standard HubSpot accounts cannot create public apps.
   2. On the developer account home page, click the Apps tab.
   3. Click Create app.
   4. On the App info tab, enter and optionally modify values that are displayed to users when they connect. These values include the public application name, application logo, and a description of the application.
   5. On the Auth tab, supply a callback URL in the "Redirect URLs" box.
      • If you're creating a desktop application, set this to a locally accessible URL like http://localhost:33333.
      • If you are creating a Web application, set this to a trusted URL where you want users to be redirected to when they authorize your application.
   6. Click Create App. HubSpot then generates the application, along with its associated credentials.
   7. On the Auth tab, note the Client ID and Client secret. You will use these later to configure the driver.

   8. Under Scopes, select any scopes you need for your application's intended functionality.

      A minimum of the following scopes is required to access tables:

      • hubdb
      • oauth
      • crm.objects.owners.read
   9. Click Save changes.
   10. Install the application into a production portal with access to the features that are required by the integration.
       • Under "Install URL (OAuth)", click Copy full URL to copy the installation URL for your application.
       • Navigate to the copied link in your browser. Select a standard account in which to install the application.
       • Click Connect app. You can close the resulting tab.

   Using a Private App

   To connect using a HubSpot private application token, set the AuthScheme property to "PrivateApp."

   You can generate a private application token by following the steps below:

   1. In your HubDB account, click the settings icon (the gear) in the main navigation bar.
   2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Integrations > Private Apps.
   3. Click Create private app.
   4. On the Basic Info tab, configure the details of your application (name, logo, and description).
   5. On the Scopes tab, select Read or Write for each scope you want your private application to be able to access.
   6. A minimum of hubdb and crm.objects.owners.read is required to access tables.
   7. After you are done configuring your application, click Create app in the top right.
   8. Review the info about your application's access token, click Continue creating, and then Show token.
   9. Click Copy to copy the private application token.

   To connect, set PrivateAppToken to the private application token you retrieved.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update the user-based permissions.

Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT)

The Python SDK authenticates to Connect AI with your account email and a Personal Access Token (PAT). It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each application to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the Settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The PAT is only visible at creation, so copy it and store it securely.

Install Required Modules

Install the SDK (with the pandas extra), Dash, and Plotly using the pip utility:

pip install "cdata-connect-ai[full]"
pip install dash
pip install plotly

Build a Web App on HubDB Data in Python

Once the required modules are installed, you are ready to build the web app. Code snippets follow, but the full source code is available at the end of the article.

First, import the modules, then connect to Connect AI with your account email and PAT and read HubDB data into a DataFrame. Identifiers are three-part: <Connection>.<Schema>.<Table>, where the connection name defaults to the source name (for example, HubDB1).

import dash
from dash import dcc, html
import pandas as pd
import plotly.graph_objs as go
import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)

df = pd.read_sql(
    "SELECT PartitionKey, Name "
    "FROM [HubDB1].[HubDB].[NorthwindProducts] "
    "WHERE Id = '1'",
    conn,
)

conn.close()

Configure the App and Layout

With the query results stored in a DataFrame, build a bar graph from the HubDB data and configure the app layout.

app = dash.Dash(__name__)
app.title = 'CData Connect AI + Dash'

trace = go.Bar(x=df['PartitionKey'], y=df['Name'], name='PartitionKey')

app.layout = html.Div(
    children=[
        html.H1("CData Connect AI + Dash", style={'textAlign': 'center'}),
        dcc.Graph(
            id='example-graph',
            figure={
                'data': [trace],
                'layout': go.Layout(title='HubDB NorthwindProducts Data', barmode='stack'),
            },
        ),
    ],
    className="container",
)

Set the App to Run

With the connection, app, and layout configured, you are ready to run the app.

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)

Now, use Python to run the web app and a browser to view the HubDB data.

python hubdb-dash.py

More Information and Free Trial

Now you can build interactive Dash web apps on live HubDB data using the CData Connect AI Python SDK. For more information on connecting to HubDB (and hundreds of other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start building web apps on live HubDB data in Python.

Full Source Code

import dash
from dash import dcc, html
import pandas as pd
import plotly.graph_objs as go
import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)

df = pd.read_sql(
    "SELECT PartitionKey, Name "
    "FROM [HubDB1].[HubDB].[NorthwindProducts] "
    "WHERE Id = '1'",
    conn,
)

conn.close()

app = dash.Dash(__name__)
app.title = 'CData Connect AI + Dash'

trace = go.Bar(x=df['PartitionKey'], y=df['Name'], name='PartitionKey')

app.layout = html.Div(
    children=[
        html.H1("CData Connect AI + Dash", style={'textAlign': 'center'}),
        dcc.Graph(
            id='example-graph',
            figure={
                'data': [trace],
                'layout': go.Layout(title='HubDB NorthwindProducts Data', barmode='stack'),
            },
        ),
    ],
    className="container",
)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)