Query JD Edwards Data through ODBC in Node.js

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code outside of a browser. With the CData ODBC Driver for JD Edwards, you can access live JD Edwards data from Node.js apps and scripts. In this article, we walk through installing node-odbc and the required tools to create a simple Node.js app with access to live JD Edwards data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live JD Edwards data in Node.js. When you issue complex SQL queries from Node.js to JD Edwards, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to JD Edwards and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to JD Edwards Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

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.

Building node-odbc

In order to connect to JD Edwards through the CData ODBC Driver, you need to build node-odbc manually (after installing the required tools).

Installing the Required Tools

The following commands install the tools required to build node-odbc (note the -g parameter, which installs the tools globally).

npm i -g windows-build-tools
npm i -g node-gyp

Building node-odbc

After installing the required tools, create a directory for the Node.js app and install odbc (which builds the binary for us to use in our Node.js script).

mkdir nodeodbc
cd nodeodbc
npm i -g node

Querying JD Edwards from Node.js

With the ODBC Driver installed, a DSN Configured, and node-odbc built, we are ready to query live JD Edwards data from a Node.js app. The sample code below connects to a specific DSN and queries the AccountsPayable.AccountLedger table.

myscript.js

const odbc = require('odbc');

async function queryJDEdwards() {
    const connection = await odbc.connect(`DSN=CData JDEdwards Source`);
    const data = await connection.query('SELECT DocumentNumber, Amount FROM AccountsPayable.AccountLedger');
    console.log(data);
}

queryJDEdwards();

Once you write the app, use node to execute the script:

node myscript.js

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for JD Edwards and start working with your live JD Edwards data in Node.js. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.