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Get the Report →Build MVC Applications with Connectivity to Salesforce Data Cloud Data
This article shows how to use only the Entity Framework and the CData ADO.NET provider to access Salesforce Data Cloud from an ASP.NET MVC application.
In this article, we will guide you through the process of utilizing wizards within Visual Studio to seamlessly integrate the CData ADO.NET Provider for Salesforce Data Cloud into a basic MVC (Model, View, Controller) project.
Create the Entity Framework Model
Follow the steps below to save connection properties and map tables to entities in the data model.
- Create a new MVC project in Visual Studio. In this example, the project name is MvcSalesforceDataCloudApp.
If you are using Entity Framework 6, you will need to take the preliminary step of registering the Salesforce Data Cloud Entity Framework provider for your project. See the "LINQ and Entity Framework" chapter in the help documentation for a guide.
Note that MVC 3 scaffolding and MVC 4 scaffolding do not support Entity Framework 6. You can use your scaffolding with Entity Framework 6 by upgrading to the latest version of MVC.- To add the .edmx file from the designer, right-click your Models folder and click Add New Item. Select ADO.NET Entity Data Model, name the model, and click Add. In this example, the name of the model is SalesforceDataCloudModel.
- In the Entity Data Model wizard, select the option 'EF Designer from database'. The Entity Data Model wizard is displayed.
- Click New Connection. Select CData Salesforce Data Cloud Data Source in the dialog that is displayed.
Specify the required connection string properties.
Salesforce Data Cloud supports authentication via the OAuth standard.
OAuth
Set AuthScheme to OAuth.
Desktop Applications
CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.
You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Salesforce Data Cloud console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation.
Before you connect, set these properties:
- InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
- OAuthClientId (custom applications only): The Client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
- OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): The Client Secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
When you connect, the driver opens Salesforce Data Cloud's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.
The driver then completes the OAuth process as follows:
- Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
- Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
- Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation so that they persist across connections.
For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications and Headless Machines, refer to the Help documentation.
Name the connection and select whether to include sensitive information, such as connection credentials, in the connection string. For simplicity, this example saves sensitive information in Web.config. The connection settings are saved as SalesforceDataCloudEntities.
- Select the views you need. In this example, Account is imported. Also, the option to pluralize object names is deselected in this example. Click Finish to create the .edmx file.
- Build your project to complete this step.
Scaffold the Controller and Views
Once you've established the model and completed the project build, you can employ ASP.NET Scaffolding wizards to generate both the controller and the views.
- In Solution Explorer, right-click the controllers folder and click Add -> Controller. Select MVC 5 Controller with views, using Entity Framework.
- In the Add Controller dialog that is then displayed, select the following options:
- Model class: Select a table you imported; for example, Account.
- Data context class: Select your context class.
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Leave the default values for the other fields.
