Connect to Twitter Data from Blazor Apps

Blazor is a framework for developing modern, client-side web UIs using .NET technology. Instead of coding in JavaScript, developers can use the familiar C# language and .NET libraries to build app UIs.

The CData ADO.NET Provider for Twitter can be used with standard ADO.NET interfaces, such as LINQ and Entity Framework, to interact with live Twitter data. Since Blazor supports .NET Core, developers can use CData ADO.NET Providers in Blazor apps. In this article, we will guide you to build a simple Blazor app that talks to Twitter using standard SQL queries.

Install the CData ADO.NET Provider for Twitter

CData ADO.NET Providers allow users to access Twitter just like they would access SQL Server, using simple SQL queries.

Install the Twitter ADO.NET Data Provider from the CData website or from NuGet. Search NuGet for "Twitter ADO.NET Data Provider."

Create a Twitter-Connected Blazor App

Start by creating a Blazor project that references the CData ADO.NET Provider for Twitter

1. Create a Blazor project on Visual Studio.
2. From the Solution Explorer, right click Dependencies, then click Add Project Reference.
3. In the Reference Manager, click the Browse button, and choose the .dll file of the installed ADO.NET Provider (e.g. System.Data.CData.Twitter.dll, typically located at C:\Program Files\CData\CData ADO.NET Provider for Twitter\lib etstandard2.0).

SELECT Twitter Data from the Blazor App

1. Open the Index.razor file from the Project page.
2. In a TwitterConnection object, set the connection string:

   All tables require authentication. You can connect using your User and Password or OAuth. To authenticate using OAuth, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can register an app to obtain your own.

   If you intend to communicate with Twitter only as the currently authenticated user, then you can obtain the OAuthAccessToken and OAuthAccessTokenSecret directly by registering an app.

   See the Getting Started chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

   For example: InitiateOAuth=True;

3. The code below creates a simple Blazor app for displaying Twitter data, using standard SQL to query Twitter just like SQL Server.

         @page "/"
         @using System.Data;
         @using System.Data.CData.Twitter;
         
         <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
         
         Welcome to your Data app.
         
         <div class="row">
             <div class="col-12">
         
                 @using (TwitterConnection connection = new TwitterConnection(
                   "InitiateOAuth=True;"))
                 {
                     var sql = "SELECT From_User_Name, Retweet_Count FROM Tweets";
                     var results = new DataTable();
         
                     TwitterDataAdapter dataAdapter = new TwitterDataAdapter(sql, connection);
                     dataAdapter.Fill(results);
         
                     <table class="table table-bordered">
                         <thead class="thead-light">
                             <tr>
                                 @foreach (DataColumn item in results.Rows[0].Table.Columns)
                                 {
                                     <th scope="col">@item.ColumnName</th>
                                 }
                             </tr>
                         </thead>
                         <tbody>
                             @foreach (DataRow row in results.Rows)
                             {
                                 <tr>
                                     @foreach (var column in row.ItemArray)
                                     {
                                         <td>@column.ToString()</td>
                                     }
                                 </tr>
                             }
                         </tbody>
                     </table>
                 }
             </div>
         </div>
       

4. Rebuild and run the project. The ADO.NET Provider renders Twitter data as an HTML table in the Blazor app.

   At this point, you have a Twitter-connected Blazor app, capable of working with live Twitter data just like you would work with a SQL Server instance. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working with live Twitter data in your Blazor apps today.