Getting Started with the CData Connect AI Python SDK for SAP Ariba Procurement

The CData Connect AI Python SDK (cdata-connect-ai) is a DB-API 2.0 (PEP 249) compliant client that lets you fetch and act on live SAP Ariba Procurement data with standard Python database code. Because Connect AI provides the connectivity: you install one package, authenticate with a Personal Access Token, and query SAP Ariba Procurement (and every other source connected in Connect AI) using the same familiar connect() / cursor() / fetchall() pattern you already know from libraries like sqlite3 and psycopg2.

This guide walks through connecting SAP Ariba Procurement in Connect AI, generating a Personal Access Token, installing the SDK, and reading (and, where supported, writing) live SAP Ariba Procurement data.

Prerequisites

• An account in CData Connect AI
• Python 3.8 or higher
• An active SAP Ariba Procurement account with valid credentials

Connect to SAP Ariba Procurement in Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "SAP Ariba Procurement" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP Ariba Procurement.

   In order to connect with SAP Ariba Procurement, set the following:

   • ANID: Your Ariba Network ID.
   • ANID: Specify which API you would like the provider to retrieve SAP Ariba data from. Select the Buyer or Supplier API based on your business role (possible values are PurchaseOrdersBuyerAPIV1 or PurchaseOrdersSupplierAPIV1).
   • Environment: Indicate whether you are connecting to a test or production environment (possible values are TEST or PRODUCTION).

   Authenticating with OAuth

   After setting connection properties, you need to configure OAuth connectivity to authenticate.

   • Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient.
   • Register an application with the service to obtain the APIKey, OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret.

     For more information on creating an OAuth application, refer to the Help documentation.

   Automatic OAuth

   After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

   APIKey: The Application key in your app settings. OAuthClientId: The OAuth Client Id in your app settings. OAuthClientSecret: The OAuth Secret in your app settings.

   When you connect, the provider automatically completes the OAuth process:

   1. The provider obtains an access token from SAP Ariba and uses it to request data.
   2. The provider refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.
   3. The OAuth values are saved in memory relative to the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation.
   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab and update the user-based permissions.

Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT)

The Python SDK authenticates to Connect AI with your account email and a Personal Access Token (PAT). It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each application to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the Settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The PAT is only visible at creation, so copy it and store it securely.

Install the SDK

Install the SDK from PyPI with pip:

pip install cdata-connect-ai

Connect and Run Your First Query

Connect with your account email and PAT, then query sys_tables to discover every table available across your connected sources. Identifiers in Connect AI are three-part: <Connection>.<Schema>.<Table>, where the connection name defaults to the source name (for example, SAPAribaProcurement1).

import cdata_connect_ai

conn = cdata_connect_ai.connect(
    username="[email protected]",
    password="<your_pat>",
)
cur = conn.cursor()

# Discover what's available across your connected sources
cur.execute("SELECT CatalogName, SchemaName, TableName FROM sys_tables LIMIT 25")

for row in cur.fetchall():
    print(row)

Pick any table from the results and query it directly:

cur.execute(
    "SELECT DocumentNumber, Revision "
    "FROM [SAPAribaProcurement1].[SAPAribaProcurement].[Orders] "
    "LIMIT 10"
)

for row in cur.fetchall():
    print(row)

SAP Ariba Procurement is a read-only source in Connect AI, so the SDK supports queries but not INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE. Close the connection when you are finished:

conn.close()

That is the entire workflow: one package, a PAT, and standard DB-API calls. Because the SDK returns a normal DB-API connection, it drops straight into the rest of the Python data ecosystem. From here you can load SAP Ariba Procurement data into pandas, build ETL pipelines with petl, or power a Dash web app, all using this same connection.

More Information and Free Trial

Now you can query live SAP Ariba Procurement data from Python through the CData Connect AI Python SDK. For more information on connecting to SAP Ariba Procurement (and hundreds of other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live SAP Ariba Procurement data in Python.