Integrate Live JD Edwards Data into Custom Business Apps Built in Power Apps

Power Apps is a service for building and using custom business apps that connect to your data and work across the web and mobile — without the time and expense of custom software development. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to JD Edwards data from the apps you build using Power Apps. This article shows how to connect to Connect AI from Power Apps and build an app based on live JD Edwards data.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for JD Edwards, allowing you to easily integrate with live JD Edwards data in Power Apps — without replicating the data. CData Connect AI looks exactly like a SQL Server database to Power Apps and uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to JD Edwards, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return JD Edwards data.

Configure JD Edwards Connectivity for Power Apps

Connectivity to JD Edwards from Power Apps is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with JD Edwards data from Power Apps, we start by creating and configuring a JD Edwards connection.

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

2. Select "JD Edwards" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to JD Edwards.

   The driver connects to JD Edwards through your Application Interface Services (AIS) Server. Set the following connection properties:

   • URL: The base HTTPS URL of your AIS Server (e.g., https://jde-ais.example.com:8300).
   • User: Your JD Edwards username.
   • Password: Your JD Edwards password.
   • Environment (optional): The JD Edwards environment to use (e.g., PD920 for production or DV920 for development). If not specified, the AIS Server's default environment is used.
   • Role (optional): The JD Edwards role for the session. If not specified, the AIS Server's default role is used.
   • DeviceName (optional): An identifier for the connecting device or application, used for auditing and logging on the AIS Server.
   • Jasserver (optional): The specific Java Application Server (JAS) instance to route requests through, useful in clustered environments.

   Choosing Which Data Is Exposed

   JD Edwards organizes tables and business views by System Code, and the driver exposes each System Code as its own schema. Use these properties to control which schemas are available:

   • DataModel: One or more ERP modules (comma-separated) whose System Codes are exposed as schemas, or All to expose every System Code in the connected instance. Defaults to FinancialManagement.
   • SystemCodes: A comma-separated list of additional System Codes to expose alongside those from DataModel (e.g., 42,43).

   When you connect, the driver sends your credentials to the AIS Server to obtain a session token and caches it. The driver requests a new token automatically before the session expires.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add JD Edwards Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on 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 personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to JD Edwards data from Power Apps.

Connecting to CData Connect AI

To use Connect AI to integrate JD Edwards data into your Power Apps, you need a new SQL Server connection:

1. Log in to Power Apps
2. Click Dataverse -> Connections -> New connection
3. Select SQL Server
4. In the connection wizard:
   
   
   • Choose to connect directly
   • Set SQL server name to tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Set SQL database name to the name of the JD Edwards connection (e.g. JDEdwards1)
   • Set Username to a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Set Password to the PAT for the above user
   • Click Create

Building a Data-Centric App for JD Edwards Data

With the connection to Connect AI configured, you are ready to integrate live JD Edwards data into the apps you build in Power Apps.

1. Log in to Power Apps
2. Click Create and select "SQL"
3. Select the SQL Server connection you created
4. Search for or choose a table to work with
5. Click Connect
6. Customize the newly created app just like you would any other, including changing the layout and setting the fields exposed in BrowseScreen, DetailScreen, and EditScreen

At this point, you have an app with read access to live JD Edwards data that you can save and publish for use within your organization.

SQL Access to JD Edwards Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live JD Edwards data from Microsoft Power Apps. You can create more connections and apps to drive business — all without replicating JD Edwards data.

To get real-time data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect AI.