Import Real-Time ScrapingBee Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use ScrapingBee data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData API Driver for ODBC, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational ScrapingBee data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with ScrapingBee data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData API Driver for ODBC and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (Data Source Name). This is the last step of the driver installation process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Using API Key Authentication

ScrapingBee uses API key authentication. To obtain an API key:

  1. Sign in to your ScrapingBee account at https://app.scrapingbee.com
  2. Navigate to the Dashboard and locate your API key in the top section.
  3. Copy the API key for use in the connection string.

After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
Set the following in the ProfileSettings connection property:
  • APIKey: Set this to your ScrapingBee API key.

Example Connection String

Profile=C:\profiles\ScrapingBee.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings="APIKey=your_api_key";

Connecting to ScrapingBee

Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to ScrapingBee and query data from any of the available tables. All tables require at least one input parameter (such as a search query or product ID) to retrieve data.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import ScrapingBee Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services.
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button.
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData ScrapingBee Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration.
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataScrapingBeeODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

                
        <cfquery name="ScrapingBeeQuery" dataSource="CDataScrapingBeeODBC"> 
          SELECT * FROM GoogleSearchResults 
        </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
                
          <cftable  
          query = "ScrapingBeeQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 

          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=2 text=""/> 

          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=15 text=""/> 

          ...

        </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
                
        <html> 
        <head><title>CData Software | ScrapingBee GoogleSearchResults Table Demo </title></head> 
        <body> 
        <cfoutput>#ucase("ScrapingBee GoogleSearchResults Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
        <cfquery name="ScrapingBeeQuery" dataSource="CDataScrapingBeeODBC"> 

          SELECT * FROM GoogleSearchResults 

        </cfquery> 
        <cftable  
          query = "ScrapingBeeQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 
          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=2 text=""/> 

          <cfcol header="<b></b>" align="Left" width=15 text=""/> 

          ...

        </cftable> 
        </body> 

        </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with ScrapingBee data!

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for ScrapingBee and start building ScrapingBee-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from ScrapingBee with the API Driver

Connect to ScrapingBee

In this article

Related articles