Query Raisers Edge NXT Data through ODBC in Node.js

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code outside of a browser. With the CData ODBC Driver for Raisers Edge NXT, you can access live Raisers Edge NXT data from Node.js apps and scripts. In this article, we walk through installing node-odbc and the required tools to create a simple Node.js app with access to live Raisers Edge NXT data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Raisers Edge NXT data in Node.js. When you issue complex SQL queries from Node.js to Raisers Edge NXT, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Raisers Edge NXT and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to Raisers Edge NXT Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

Before establishing a connection, supply the SubscriptionKey, found in the Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Profile.

Authenticating to Raiser's Edge NXT

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT uses the OAuth authentication standard. You can connect to without setting any connection properties using the embedded OAuth credentials.

Alternatively, you can authenticate by creating a custom app to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL connection properties.

See the Help documentation for an authentication guide.

Building node-odbc

In order to connect to Raisers Edge NXT through the CData ODBC Driver, you need to build node-odbc manually (after installing the required tools).

Installing the Required Tools

The following commands install the tools required to build node-odbc (note the -g parameter, which installs the tools globally).

npm i -g windows-build-tools
npm i -g node-gyp

Building node-odbc

After installing the required tools, create a directory for the Node.js app and install odbc (which builds the binary for us to use in our Node.js script).

mkdir nodeodbc
cd nodeodbc
npm i -g node

Querying Raisers Edge NXT from Node.js

With the ODBC Driver installed, a DSN Configured, and node-odbc built, we are ready to query live Raisers Edge NXT data from a Node.js app. The sample code below connects to a specific DSN and queries the Constituents table.

myscript.js

const odbc = require('odbc');

async function queryRaiserEdgeNXT() {
    const connection = await odbc.connect(`DSN=CData RaiserEdgeNXT Source`);
    const data = await connection.query('SELECT Id, AddressLines FROM Constituents');
    console.log(data);
}

queryRaiserEdgeNXT();

Once you write the app, use node to execute the script:

node myscript.js

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Raisers Edge NXT and start working with your live Raisers Edge NXT data in Node.js. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.