Build a Simple VCL Application for SAS xpt Data

Ready to get started?

Download for a free trial:

Download Now

Learn more:

SASxpt FireDAC Components

Rapidly create and deploy powerful Delphi & C++Builder Apps that integrate with SAS xpt (XPORT) files.

In this article

Related articles


How to build a simple VCL Application to view SAS xpt data in RAD Studio using the CData FireDAC Components for SAS xpt.

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

Creating a VCL Application for SAS xpt 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 SAS xpt from any application.

The following example populates a TDBGrid control.

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

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

    Connecting to Local SASXpt Files

    You can connect to local SASXpt file by setting the URI to a folder containing SASXpt files.

    Connecting to S3 data source

    You can connect to Amazon S3 source to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

    • URI: Set this to the folder within your bucket that you would like to connect to.
    • AWSAccessKey: Set this to your AWS account access key.
    • AWSSecretKey: Set this to your AWS account secret key.
    • TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).

    Connecting to Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2

    You can connect to ADLS Gen2 to read SASXpt files. Set the following properties to connect:

    • URI: Set this to the name of the file system and the name of the folder which contacts your SASXpt files.
    • AzureAccount: Set this to the name of the Azure Data Lake storage account.
    • AzureAccessKey: Set this to our Azure DataLakeStore Gen 2 storage account access key.
    • TemporaryLocalFolder: Set this to the path, or URI, to the folder that is used to temporarily download SASXpt file(s).

  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.