Connect to Perigon Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for Perigon can be used from any platform or development technology that supports ODBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to connect to Perigon data and execute queries from the Database Painter and controls such as the DataWindow.

Connect to Perigon as an ODBC Data Source

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.

Using API Key Authentication

To use the Perigon API, you need to obtain an API key from your Perigon account. Navigate to the Perigon dashboard and generate an API key from your account settings.

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your Perigon API key.

Example connection string:

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

Available Tables

The Perigon profile provides access to the following tables:

• Articles - News articles retrieved from the Perigon news intelligence API
• Headlines - Story clusters grouping related headline articles
• Sources - News sources tracked by the Perigon news intelligence API
• Journalists - Journalist profiles tracked by the Perigon news intelligence API

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Perigon

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for Perigon. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with Perigon data.

1. In PowerBuilder, click Tools -> Database Painter.
2. In the Objects window in the Database Painter, right-click the ODBC node and click New Profile.
3. On the Connection tab, enter a name for the profile and select the Perigon DSN in the Data Source menu.
4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Perigon Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to ODBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve Perigon data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODBC"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='DSN=CData API Source'"
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_articles.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_articles.Retrieve();