Connect to Spotify Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
This article demonstrates how to use the CData ODBC Driver for Spotify to connect to Spotify data and execute queries in PowerBuilder.

The CData ODBC Driver for Spotify can be used from any platform or development technology that supports ODBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to connect to Spotify data and execute queries from the Database Painter and controls such as the DataWindow.

Connect to Spotify as an ODBC Data Source

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. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Using OAuth Authentication

Spotify uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You will need to create an application in the Spotify Developer Dashboard to obtain your client credentials.

Setting Up Your Spotify Application

  1. Visit the Spotify Developer Dashboard.
  2. Log in with your Spotify account and click Create app.
  3. Provide an app name, description, and set a Redirect URI (e.g.,
    http://localhost:33333
    for desktop applications).
  4. Copy your Client ID and Client Secret from the app settings.

Connection Properties

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OAuthClientId: Set this to your Spotify application's Client ID.
  • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Spotify application's Client Secret.
  • Scope: Set this to the required OAuth scopes (space-separated). The default includes all read scopes needed for the tables in this profile.
  • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI configured in your Spotify application (e.g., http://localhost:33333).

Example Connection String

Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;

Available OAuth Scopes

  • user-read-private: Read access to user's subscription details and explicit content settings.
  • user-read-email: Read access to user's email address.
  • user-library-read: Read access to a user's saved tracks, albums, episodes, shows, and audiobooks.
  • playlist-read-private: Read access to user's private playlists.
  • playlist-read-collaborative: Read access to collaborative playlists the user follows.
  • user-follow-read: Read access to the list of artists the current user follows.
  • user-read-playback-state: Read access to a user's player state (device, current track, progress).
  • user-read-currently-playing: Read access to a user's currently playing content.
  • user-read-playback-history: Read access to a user's recently played tracks.
  • user-top-read: Read access to a user's top artists and tracks.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Spotify

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for Spotify. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with Spotify data.

  1. In PowerBuilder, click Tools -> Database Painter.
  2. In the Objects window in the Database Painter, right-click the ODBC node and click New Profile.
  3. On the Connection tab, enter a name for the profile and select the Spotify DSN in the Data Source menu.
  4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Spotify Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to ODBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve Spotify data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODBC"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='DSN=CData API Source'"
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_albums.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_albums.Retrieve();

Ready to get started?

Connect to live data from Spotify with the API Driver

Connect to Spotify