Connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage Data from Blazor Apps

Blazor is a framework for developing modern, client-side web UIs using .NET technology. Instead of coding in JavaScript, developers can use the familiar C# language and .NET libraries to build app UIs.

The CData ADO.NET Provider for IBM Cloud Object Storage can be used with standard ADO.NET interfaces, such as LINQ and Entity Framework, to interact with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data. Since Blazor supports .NET Core, developers can use CData ADO.NET Providers in Blazor apps. In this article, we will guide you to build a simple Blazor app that talks to IBM Cloud Object Storage using standard SQL queries.

Install the CData ADO.NET Provider for IBM Cloud Object Storage

CData ADO.NET Providers allow users to access IBM Cloud Object Storage just like they would access SQL Server, using simple SQL queries.

Install the IBM Cloud Object Storage ADO.NET Data Provider from the CData website or from NuGet. Search NuGet for "IBM Cloud Object Storage ADO.NET Data Provider."

Create a IBM Cloud Object Storage-Connected Blazor App

Start by creating a Blazor project that references the CData ADO.NET Provider for IBM Cloud Object Storage

1. Create a Blazor project on Visual Studio.
2. From the Solution Explorer, right click Dependencies, then click Add Project Reference.
3. In the Reference Manager, click the Browse button, and choose the .dll file of the installed ADO.NET Provider (e.g. System.Data.CData.IBMCloudObjectStorage.dll, typically located at C:\Program Files\CData\CData ADO.NET Provider for IBM Cloud Object Storage\lib etstandard2.0).

SELECT IBM Cloud Object Storage Data from the Blazor App

1. Open the Index.razor file from the Project page.
2. In a IBMCloudObjectStorageConnection object, set the connection string:

   Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

   If you do not already have Cloud Object Storage in your IBM Cloud account, follow the procedure below to install an instance of SQL Query in your account:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the page, choose a name for your instance and click Create. You will be redirected to the instance of Cloud Object Storage you just created.

   Connecting using OAuth Authentication

   There are certain connection properties you need to set before you can connect. You can obtain these as follows:

   API Key

   To connect with IBM Cloud Object Storage, you need an API Key. You can obtain this as follows:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the Platform API Keys page.
   3. On the middle-right corner click "Create an IBM Cloud API Key" to create a new API Key.
   4. In the pop-up window, specify the API Key name and click "Create". Note the API Key as you can never access it again from the dashboard.

   Cloud Object Storage CRN

   If you have multiple accounts, you will need to specify the CloudObjectStorageCRN explicitly. To find the appropriate value, you can:

   • Query the Services view. This will list your IBM Cloud Object Storage instances along with the CRN for each.
   • Locate the CRN directly in IBM Cloud. To do so, navigate to your IBM Cloud Dashboard. In the Resource List, Under Storage, select your Cloud Object Storage resource to get its CRN.

   Connecting to Data

   You can now set the following to connect to data:

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • ApiKey: Set this to your API key which was noted during setup.
   • CloudObjectStorageCRN (Optional): Set this to the cloud object storage CRN you want to work with. While the connector attempts to retrieve this automatically, specifying this explicitly is recommended if you have more than Cloud Object Storage account.

   When you connect, the connector completes the OAuth process.

   1. Extracts the access token and authenticates requests.
   2. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.

   For example: ApiKey=myApiKey;CloudObjectStorageCRN=MyInstanceCRN;Region=myRegion;OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=myOAuthClientSecret;

3. The code below creates a simple Blazor app for displaying IBM Cloud Object Storage data, using standard SQL to query IBM Cloud Object Storage just like SQL Server.

         @page "/"
         @using System.Data;
         @using System.Data.CData.IBMCloudObjectStorage;
         
         <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
         
         Welcome to your Data app.
         
         <div class="row">
             <div class="col-12">
         
                 @using (IBMCloudObjectStorageConnection connection = new IBMCloudObjectStorageConnection(
                   "ApiKey=myApiKey;CloudObjectStorageCRN=MyInstanceCRN;Region=myRegion;OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=myOAuthClientSecret;"))
                 {
                     var sql = "SELECT Key, Etag FROM Objects WHERE Bucket = 'someBucket'";
                     var results = new DataTable();
         
                     IBMCloudObjectStorageDataAdapter dataAdapter = new IBMCloudObjectStorageDataAdapter(sql, connection);
                     dataAdapter.Fill(results);
         
                     <table class="table table-bordered">
                         <thead class="thead-light">
                             <tr>
                                 @foreach (DataColumn item in results.Rows[0].Table.Columns)
                                 {
                                     <th scope="col">@item.ColumnName</th>
                                 }
                             </tr>
                         </thead>
                         <tbody>
                             @foreach (DataRow row in results.Rows)
                             {
                                 <tr>
                                     @foreach (var column in row.ItemArray)
                                     {
                                         <td>@column.ToString()</td>
                                     }
                                 </tr>
                             }
                         </tbody>
                     </table>
                 }
             </div>
         </div>
       

4. Rebuild and run the project. The ADO.NET Provider renders IBM Cloud Object Storage data as an HTML table in the Blazor app.

   At this point, you have a IBM Cloud Object Storage-connected Blazor app, capable of working with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data just like you would work with a SQL Server instance. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data in your Blazor apps today.