Build SAP Ariba Source-Connected Apps in Bubble

Bubble is a no-code platform that simplifies the process of developing and launching apps and businesses. When coupled with CData Connect Cloud, you gain effortless no-code access to SAP Ariba Source data for streamlined app development. This article guides you through the integration process from Bubble to SAP Ariba Source using CData Connect Cloud.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud OData interface for SAP Ariba Source data that allows you to integrate from Bubble to SAP Ariba Source data in real time.

Connect to SAP Ariba Source from Bubble

To work with SAP Ariba Source data from Bubble, we need to connect to SAP Ariba Source from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create OData endpoints for the SAP Ariba Source data.

(Optional) Add a New Connect Cloud User

As needed, create Users to connect to SAP Ariba Source through Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the Users page and click Invite Users
2. Enter the new user's email address and click Send to invite the user
3. You can review and edit users from the Users page

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Connect to SAP Ariba Source from Connect Cloud

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

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "SAP Ariba Source" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAP Ariba Source.

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

   • API: Specify which API you would like the provider to retrieve SAP Ariba data from. Select the Supplier, Sourcing Project Management, or Contract API based on your business role (possible values are SupplierDataAPIWithPaginationV4, SourcingProjectManagementAPIV2, or ContractAPIV1).
   • DataCenter: The data center where your account's data is hosted.
   • Realm: The name of the site you want to access.
   • Environment: Indicate whether you are connecting to a test or production environment (possible values are TEST or PRODUCTION).

   If you are connecting to the Supplier Data API or the Contract API, additionally set the following:

   • User: Id of the user on whose behalf API calls are invoked.
   • PasswordAdapter: The password associated with the authenticating User.

   If you're connecting to the Supplier API, set ProjectId to the Id of the sourcing project you want to retrieve data from.

   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 Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAP Ariba Source Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Configure SAP Ariba Source Endpoints for Bubble

After connecting to SAP Ariba Source, create a workspace and virtual dataset for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Virtual Datasets page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
3. Select the SAP Ariba Source connection (e.g. SAPAribaSource1) and click Next.
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to SAP Ariba Source data from Bubble.

Build a SAP Ariba Source-Connected App

With OData endpoints added to Connect Cloud, you can build an app in Bubble with live access to SAP Ariba Source data.

Configure the Bubble API Connector

To start, Configure the API Connector for accessing CData Connect Cloud from Bubble.

1. In your app, click the Plugins tab and click Add plugins
2. Search for "API Connector" and click Install
3. After installation, click the "Add another API" button and configure the API:
   • Name the API
   • Set Authentication to "HTTP Basic Auth"
   • Set Username to a Connect Cloud user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Set Password to the PAT for the above user
   • Expand the API Call, select the "GET" command and set the URL to a Workspace endpoint you previously configured (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}/Vendors)
   
4. Click the "Initialize call" button to adjust data types in the response (as needed)
5. After making any necessary changes, click "Save"

Configure the App UI

With the API Connector configure, you are ready to retrieve SAP Ariba Source data in your Bubble app. In this article, we request the data with a UI component that can display an Excel-like table.

1. On the Plugin tab, install the "Excel-like HandsonTable"
2. On the Design tab, add an "Excel Table" to the workspace
3. In the Excel Table, in Data source, select "Get data from an external API"
4. Set Type of content to "API Call value"
5. Set Data source to "CData Connect Cloud - API Call's value" (or equivalent)
6. Click "Preview" to ensure the data was retrieved from SAP Ariba Source.

At this point, you can develop applications with live access to SAP Ariba Source data without needing to know the complexities of the back-end API.

Live Access to SAP Ariba Source Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live SAP Ariba Source data from Bubble. You can create more SAP Ariba Source-connected apps — all without writing any code or replicating SAP Ariba Source data.

To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, see the CData Connect Cloud.