Build a Simple VCL Application for SAP ByDesign Data

Embarcadero RAD Studio provides a development environment for Delphi and C++Builder applications. With the CData FireDAC Components for SAP ByDesign, you gain access to live SAP ByDesign data within RAD Studio, abstracting the data into tables, views, and stored procedures that can be used to retrieve SAP ByDesign data. This article will walk through connecting to SAP ByDesign and creating a simple VCL application with the Form Designer.

Creating a VCL Application for SAP ByDesign Data

The following instructions show how to use the Form Designer to create a simple VCL Forms application that shows the basic FireDAC objects needed to connect to SAP ByDesign from any application.

The following example populates a TDBGrid control.

1. Create a new VCL Forms Application.
2. Drop a TFDPhysSAPByDesignDriverLink and TFDConnection object onto the form.

3. Double-click the TFDConnection object. The FireDAC Connection Editor is displayed. Select "CData.SAPByDesign" in the DriverId menu and configure the connection properties.
   

   Set the following connection properties to connect to SAP ByDesign.

   • Url: Set this to the Url of your SAP ByDesign site. For example, https://test.sapbydesign.com
   • User: Set this to the username of your account.
   • Password: Set this to the password of your account.
   • CustomService or AnalyticsService: Only one of these must be specified. If you have a custom service you want to retrieve data from, specify CustomService. If you want to retrieve the reports of a analytical service, specify AnalyticsService.
     If neither is specified, 'cc_home_analytics.svc' will used as a default for the AnalyticsService property. If you are not sure what service to specify, you can always query the Services view to list available services.

4. Drop a TFDQuery object onto the form and set the properties below:
   • Connection - Set this property to the TFDConnection object, if this object is not already specified.
   • SQL - Click the button in the SQL property and enter a query.
   • Active - Set this property to true.
5. Drop a TDataSource object onto the form and set the following property:
   • DataSet - In the menu for this property, select the name of the TFDQuery object.
6. Drop a TDBGrid control onto the form and set the following property:
   • DataSource - Select the name of the TDataSource.

7. Drop a TFDGUIxWaitCursor onto the form. This is required to avoid a run-time error.

You now have an executable application that displays the results of the SQL Query set in the TFDQuery object.