How to connect to Paddle Data in DBVisualizer

The CData API Driver for JDBC implements JDBC standards to provide connectivity to Paddle data in applications ranging from business intelligence tools to IDEs. This article shows how to establish a connection to Paddle data in DBVisualizer and use the table editor to load Paddle data.

Create a New Driver Definition for Paddle Data

Follow the steps below to use the Driver Manager to provide connectivity to Paddle data from DBVisualizer tools.

1. In DBVisualizer, click Tools -> Driver Manager.
2. Click the plus sign "" to create a new driver.
3. Select "Custom" as the template.
4. On the Driver Settings tab:
   • Set Name to a user-friendly name (e.g. "CData Paddle Driver")
   • Set URL Format to jdbc:api:
   • In Driver artifacts and jar files (jars are loaded in order from top):
     1. Click the plus sign "" -> "Add Files"
     2. Navigate to the "lib" folder in the installation directory (C:\Program Files\CData API Driver for JDBC XXXX\)
     3. Select the JAR file (cdata.jdbc.API.jar) and click "Open"
     
5. The Driver Class should populate automatically. If not, select class (cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver).

Define the Connection to the JDBC Data Source

Close the "Driver Manager" and follow the steps below to save connection properties in the JDBC URL.

1. In the "Databases" tab, click the plus sign "" and select the driver you just created.

2. In the "Connection" section, set the following options:

   • Database Type: If you selected the wizard option, the database type is automatically detected. If you selected the "No Wizard" option, select the Generic or Auto Detect option in the Database Type menu.
   • Driver Type: Select the driver you just created.

   • Database URL: Enter the full JDBC URL. The syntax of the JDBC URL is jdbc:api: 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.

     

     When you configure the JDBC URL, 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.

     A typical connection string is below:

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

   • NOTE: Since Paddle does not require a User or Password to authenticate, you may use whatever values you wish for Database Userid and Database Password.
3. On the Connection tab, click Connect.

To browse through tables exposed by the Paddle JDBC Driver, right-click a table and click "Open in New Tab."

To execute SQL queries, use the SQL Commander tool: Click SQL Commander -> New SQL Commander. Select the Database Connection, Database, and Schema from the available menus.

See the "Supported SQL" chapter in the help documentation for more information on the supported SQL. See the "Data Model" chapter for table-specific information.

More Information & Free Trial

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live Paddle data in DbVisualizer. Join the CData Community or reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.