How to Generate SQL Command Schemas for the CData BizTalk Adapter for SAS Data Sets

This article will show how to generate a schema to process SAS Data Sets data retrieved using the CData BizTalk Adapter. You will generate a schema for a SELECT command.

This guide shows how to use the CData BizTalk Adapter for SAS Data Sets to execute SQL commands to SAS Data Sets.

Add the Adapter for SAS Data Sets to Your Project

Follow the steps below to add the adapter to a BizTalk Server project.

1. If you have not already done so, create a new BizTalk Server project in Visual Studio.
2. Right-click on the project in the Solution Explorer and click Add -> Add Generated Items.
3. Select Add Adapter Metadata in the resulting dialog box.
4. In the resulting Add Adapter wizard, select the adapter from the list.
5. In the Port menu, leave the selection blank. You can also select a receive location or send port that has the adapter configured as its transport type.

Generate a Schema for an SQL Command

After you select the adapter in the Add Adapter wizard, the Schema wizard is displayed. Follow the steps below to configure connection properties and retrieve the metadata for the results of the command.

1. In the Connection String page, enter authentication credentials and other connection properties, if you did not select an adapter that you have already configured in your BizTalk application. Below is a typical connection string: URI=C:/myfolder;

   Set the following connection properties to connect to your SAS DataSet files:

   Connecting to Local Files

   • Set the Connection Type to "Local." Local files support SELECT, INSERT, and DELETE commands.
   • Set the URI to a folder containing SAS files, e.g. C:\PATH\TO\FOLDER\.

   Connecting to Cloud-Hosted SAS DataSet Files

   While the driver is capable of pulling data from SAS DataSet files hosted on a variety of cloud data stores, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE are not supported outside of local files in this driver.

   Set the Connection Type to the service hosting your SAS DataSet files. A unique prefix at the beginning of the URI connection property is used to identify the cloud data store and the remainder of the path is a relative path to the desired folder (one table per file) or single file (a single table). For more information, refer to the Getting Started section of the Help documentation.

2. In the General Options section on the next page, Schema Information, select Send Port or Receive Location, depending on the adapter configuration.
3. If you want to generate the schema for the entire result set, select the Single Message option in the Message Mode menu. If you want to generate one schema for each row in the result set, select the Message Per Row option and confirm that the root element of the message is 'row'.
4. In the Command Type menu, select SQL Command.

5. In the SQL Command Text box on the Statement Information page, enter an SQL command. (If you have configured a receive location or send port, the SQL command you configured is entered in the box.) This example uses the query below:

   SELECT name, borough FROM restaurants WHERE cuisine = 'American'

6. Confirm the settings in the summary displayed by the wizard and click Finish to generate the schema.xsd file.

Processing Schemas

To use schemas in a simple BizTalk application, see the tutorial.