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DataBind Charts to SAP SuccessFactors Data


Use the standard ADO.NET procedures for databinding to provide bidirectional access to SAP SuccessFactors data from controls in the Visual Studio toolbox. This article demonstrates a graphical approach using wizards in Visual Studio, as well as how to databind with only a few lines of code.

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for SAP SuccessFactors streamlines the process of binding SAP SuccessFactors data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between SAP SuccessFactors data and a chart that dynamically updates. Additionally, the code walk-through section will guide you through the creation of a chart using just 10 lines of code.

DataBind to a Chart

DataBinding consists of three steps: Instantiate the control, configure the data source, and databind.

Configure the Connection and Select Database Objects

To create a chart control and establish a connection to SAP SuccessFactors, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific SAP SuccessFactors entities you wish to bind to.

  1. In a Windows Forms project, drag and drop a Chart control from the toolbox to the form. In the Data section of the Chart properties, select DataSource and then select Add Project Data Source from the menu.
  2. In the Data Source Configuration Wizard that appears, select Database -> Dataset.
  3. In the Choose Your Data Connection step, click New Connection.

  4. In the Add Connection dialog, click Change to select the CData SAP SuccessFactors Data Source.

    Below is a typical connection string:

    User=username;Password=password;CompanyId=CompanyId;Url=https://api4.successfactors.com;

    You can authenticate to SAP Success Factors using Basic authentication or OAuth with SAML assertion.

    Basic Authentication

    You must provide values for the following properties to successfully authenticate to SAP Success Factors. Note that the provider will reuse the session opened by SAP Success Factors using cookies. Which means that your credentials will be used only on the first request to open the session. After that, cookies returned from SAP Success Factors will be used for authentication.

    • Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
    • User: set this to the username of your account.
    • Password: set this to the password of your account.
    • CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.

    OAuth Authentication

    You must provide values for the following properties, which will be used to get the access token.

    • Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
    • User: set this to the username of your account.
    • CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.
    • OAuthClientId: set this to the API Key that was generated in API Center.
    • OAuthClientSecret: the X.509 private key used to sign SAML assertion. The private key can be found in the certificate you downloaded in Registering your OAuth Client Application.
    • InitiateOAuth: set this to GETANDREFRESH.

    When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

  5. Choose the database objects you want to work with. This example uses the ExtAddressInfo table.

DataBind

After adding the data source and selecting database objects, you can bind the objects to the chart. This example assigns the x-axis to address1 and the y-axis to zipCode.

  1. In the Chart properties, click the button in the Series property to open the Series Collection Editor.
  2. In the Series properties, select the columns you want for the x- and y-axes: Select columns from the menu in the XValueMember and YValueMember properties.

The chart is now databound to the SAP SuccessFactors data. Run the chart to display the current data.

Code Walk-through

DataBinding to SAP SuccessFactors data requires only a few lines of code and can be completed in three easy steps.

  1. Connect to SAP SuccessFactors.
  2. Create the SAPSuccessFactorsDataAdapter to execute the query and create a DataSet to be filled with its results.
  3. DataBind the result set to the chart.

Below is the complete code:

SAPSuccessFactorsConnection conn = new SAPSuccessFactorsConnection("User=username;Password=password;CompanyId=CompanyId;Url=https://api4.successfactors.com;"); SAPSuccessFactorsCommand comm = new SAPSuccessFactorsCommand("SELECT address1, zipCode FROM ExtAddressInfo WHERE city = 'Springfield'", conn); SAPSuccessFactorsDataAdapter da = new SAPSuccessFactorsDataAdapter(comm); DataSet dataset = new DataSet(); da.Fill(dataset); chart1.DataSource = dataset; chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "address1"; chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "zipCode"; // Insert code for additional chart formatting here. chart1.DataBind();