Create SAS Data Sets-Connected Business Apps in AppSheet

Google AppSheet is a no-code development platform for application software, enabling users to design mobile, tablet, and web applications. When combined with CData Connect AI, you gain immediate cloud-to-cloud access to SAS Data Sets data for business applications. This article outlines the process of connecting to SAS Data Sets using Connect AI and constructing a basic app from SAS Data Sets data within AppSheet.

CData Connect AI offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for SAS Data Sets, enabling the creation of reports directly from live SAS Data Sets data within AppSheet, all without the need for data replication to a native database. When you design applications that interact with data, AppSheet formulates SQL queries to retrieve the required information. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to SAS Data Sets. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested SAS Data Sets data.

Configure SAS Data Sets Connectivity for AppSheet

Connectivity to SAS Data Sets from AppSheet is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with SAS Data Sets data from AppSheet, we start by creating and configuring a SAS Data Sets connection.

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

2. Select "SAS Data Sets" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAS Data Sets.

   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.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add SAS Data Sets Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on 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 personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to SAS Data Sets data from AppSheet.

Connect to SAS Data Sets from AppSheet

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect AI from AppSheet to create a new SAS Data Sets data source.

1. Log into AppSheet
2. Click "My account" in the menu
3. Click the Sources tab and add a new data source
4. Select Cloud Database and set the connection information
   • Type: Sql Server
   • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Database: the SAS Data Sets connection, for example, SASDataSets1
   • Username: a Connect AI user, for example, [email protected]
   • Password: the PAT for the above Connect AI user
   • SSL: Require SSL
   
5. Click "Test Connection"
6. Click "Authorize Access"

Create an App

Once you create the data source for SAS Data Sets, you can start building apps on SAS Data Sets data. Start by clicking "My apps" in the menu.

1. Click to create a new app and select "Start with your own data"
2. Name the app and select an appropriate category, based on your data
3. Select the newly created data source
4. Select the table or view with the data you want

At this point, you can configure the design of your app, selecting which columns from the selected table to display, use as labels, and more. Preview the app in the preview panel and then publish or share it when ready.

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, try CData Connect AI today!