Query Paddle Data in ColdFusion

The CData JDBC driver for Paddle seamlessly integrates connectivity to Paddle data with the rapid development tools in ColdFusion. This article shows how to connect to Paddle data in ColdFusion and query Paddle tables.

Create a JDBC Data Source for Paddle in ColdFusion

The JDBC data source enables you to execute SQL from standard ColdFusion tags like cfquery and CFScript like executeQuery.

1. Copy the driver JAR and .lic file from the installation directory onto the ColdFusion classpath. For example, copy the files into C:\MyColdFusionDirectory\cfusion\wwwroot\WEB-INF\lib. Or, open the Java and JVM page in the ColdFusion Administrator and enter the path to the files in the ColdFusion Class Path box.

   The JAR and license for the driver are located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

   Restart the server after this step.

2. Add the driver as a data source:

   From the ColdFusion administrator interface, expand the Data & Services node and click Data Sources. In the Add New Data Source section, enter a name for the data source and select Other in the Driver menu.

   

3. Populate the driver properties:

   • JDBC URL: Enter connection properties in the JDBC URL. The JDBC URL begins with jdbc:api: and is followed by the connection properties in a semicolon-separated list of name=value pairs.

     Using API Key Authentication

     Paddle uses API key authentication. To obtain an API key:

     1. Sign in to your Paddle account at https://vendors.paddle.com
     2. Navigate to Developer Tools > Authentication
     3. Click "Generate API Key"
     4. Assign the appropriate permissions for the data you wish to access
     5. Copy the generated key (sandbox keys begin with pdl_sdbx_apikey_; production keys begin with pdl_live_apikey_)

     After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

     • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
     Set the following in the ProfileSettings connection property:
     • APIKey: Set this to your Paddle API key.

     Example Connection String

     Profile=C:\profiles\Paddle.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key";
     

     Connecting to Paddle

     Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to Paddle and query data from any of the available tables such as Products, Customers, Subscriptions, and Transactions.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
     

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     

     A typical JDBC URL is below:

     jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Paddle.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key";

   • Driver Class: Enter the driver class. The driver class is cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver.
   • Driver Name: Enter a user-defined name for the driver.
   • Username: Enter the username used to authenticate.
   • Password: Enter the password used to authenticate.

You can now test the connection by enabling the CData Paddle data source in the Actions column. After reporting a status of OK, the Paddle data source is ready for use.

Execute Queries

The cfquery tag can pass SQL statements to Paddle. Use the cfqueryparam tag to create parameterized queries and prevent SQL injection through the query string.

Note: To use the cfquery and cfscript, create a .cfm file. Inside the .cfm file, write the code to execute the query (see below). Place the file directly in the root directory of your web server (e.g., wwwroot in Adobe ColdFusion). Restart the service after placing the file for the changes to take effect.

<cfquery name="APIQuery" dataSource="CDataAPI">
  SELECT * FROM Products WHERE  = <cfqueryparam value="##" cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar">
</cfquery>
<cfdump var="#APIQuery#">

Below is the equivalent in CFScript:

<cfscript>
result = queryExecute(
  "SELECT * FROM Products WHERE  = ?", 
  [
    { value="", cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar" }
  ],
  { datasource="CDataAPI" }
);

writeDump( var= result );
</cfscript> 

You can then make requests to your .cfm like the following:

http://MyServer:8500/query.cfm?=