Use the CData ODBC Driver for Linear in MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Linear, you gain database-like access to live Linear data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding Linear as a data source in MicroStrategy Desktop and creating a simple visualization of Linear data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Linear data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy 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 (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Linear data using native MicroStrategy data types.

Connect to Linear as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Linear follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments.

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.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Linear in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData Linear Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Linear
Description = My Description
AuthScheme = APIKey
APIKey = myAPIKey

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Connect to and Visualize Linear Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting Linear in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to Linear in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add Linear data as a dataset and create visualizations and reports of Linear data.

1. Open MicroStrategy Desktop and create a new dossier.
2. In the datasets panel, click New Data, select Databases, and select Type a Query as the Import Option.
3. Add a new data source and choose DSN data sources.
4. Choose the DSN you previously configured (likely CData Linear Sys) and select Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Set the User and Password properties for the DSN (or use placeholder values) and name the data source.

6. Select the new database instance to view the tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
7. Create a SQL query for the Linear data (see below) and click Execute SQL to test the query.

   
   SELECT * FROM Team
   

   NOTE: Since we create a live connection, we can execute a SELECT * query and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
8. Click Finish and choose to connect live.
9. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display (data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery) and apply any filters to create a new visualization of Linear data. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to Linear, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL Engine embedded in the driver.
10. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData ODBC Driver for Linear in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Linear data. Read our other articles on connecting to Linear in MicroStrategy and connecting to Linear in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.