Import Real-Time Linear Data via JDBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST.

When ColdFusion is paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Linear, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Linear data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the JDBC driver to create a table populated with Linear data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Linear data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Linear, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Linear and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze Linear data using native data types.

Configuring the Connection to Linear

You will need a JDBC connection string to establish a connection between Coldfusion and Linear.

You can authenticate to Linear with a personal API key or with OAuth 2.0. The API key is the simplest option for connecting with your own Linear account.

Authenticating with an API Key

Set the following connection properties:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: A Linear personal API key.

To create a personal API key, log in to Linear, open Settings > Security & access > Personal API keys, select New API key, and create it. Copy the key immediately, because Linear shows it only once.

Authenticating with OAuth

OAuth requires a custom OAuth application registered in Linear (Settings > API > OAuth applications), which provides the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret. Two flows are supported:

• Authorization code: Set AuthScheme to OAuth, InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH, and provide OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and the CallbackURL defined in your application (e.g., http://localhost:33333). The driver opens Linear in your browser so you can grant access.
• Client credentials: Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient and provide OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret. This authenticates the application itself, with no browser interaction, and suits machine-to-machine integrations.

By default, the driver requests the read,write scopes. The driver refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Linear JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.linear.jar

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After configuring the connection, follow the steps below to add the CData JDBC Driver to ColdFusion's lib directory, add a new data source, test the connection, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, make a real-time connection with Linear data and display it in a table written in the ColdFusion Markup Language, or CFML:

1. Copy the JDBC Driver for Linear and lic file from "C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Linear\lib" to "C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib".

   
               cdata.jdbc.linear.jar
               cdata.jdbc.linear.lic
           

   Note: If you do not copy the .lic file with the jar, you will see a licensing error that indicates you do not have a valid license installed. This is true for both the trial and full versions.

2. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services.
3. Here, we can "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our JDBC driver, choose "other", then click the "Add" button.
4. Next, populate the driver properties.
   • JDBC URL will need to be in the format: jdbc:linear:|connectionString|.
   • A typical connection string looks like this:

     jdbc:linear:AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=myAPIKey;

   • The Driver Class is: cdata.jdbc.linear.LinearDriver
   • The Driver Name is arbitrary and simply used to recognize the data source in the ColdFusion administration console.
   
5. Now, test the connection by clicking the check mark to the left of the CDataLinearJDBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
6. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

   The following code queries the data source:

               
           <cfquery name="LinearQuery" dataSource="CDataLinearJDBC"> 
             SELECT * FROM Team 
           </cfquery> 
       

   And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:

               
             <cftable  
             query = "LinearQuery" 
             border = "1" 
             colHeaders 
             colSpacing = "2" 
             headerLines = "2" 
             HTMLTable 
             maxRows = "500" 
             startRow = "1"> 
   
             <cfcol header="<b>id</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="id"/> 
   
             <cfcol header="<b>name</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="name"/> 
   
             ...
   
           </cftable> 
       

   Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

               
           <html> 
           <head><title>CData Software | Linear Team Table Demo </title></head> 
           <body> 
           <cfoutput>#ucase("Linear Team Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
           <cfquery name="LinearQuery" dataSource="CDataLinearJDBC"> 
   
             SELECT * FROM Team 
   
           </cfquery> 
           <cftable  
             query = "LinearQuery" 
             border = "1" 
             colHeaders 
             colSpacing = "2" 
             headerLines = "2" 
             HTMLTable 
             maxRows = "500" 
             startRow = "1"> 
             <cfcol header="<b>id</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="id"/> 
   
             <cfcol header="<b>name</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="name"/> 
   
             ...
   
           </cftable> 
           </body> 
   
           </html>  
       

7. Finally, run the code locally in a browser at the default port of 8500. It produces a table populated with Linear data!

As a note, the CData JDBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example:

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =  

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Linear and start building Linear-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.