DataBind Controls to UKG Pro HCM Data in C++Builder

The CData ODBC driver for UKG Pro HCM makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live UKG Pro HCM data with standard data access components in C++Builder. This article shows how to create a simple visual component library (VCL) application in C++Builder that connects to UKG Pro HCM data, executes queries, and displays the results in a grid. An additional section shows how to use FireDAC components to execute commands from code.

Create a Connection to UKG Pro HCM Data

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.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the UKGProHCM Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\UKGProHCM.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for UKGProHCM (see below).

UKGProHCM API Profile Settings

UKG Pro HCM uses Basic authentication combined with a customer API key to authorize access to the API. To connect, you will need your UKG Pro HCM credentials and a customer API key issued by UKG.

Set the following connection properties to authenticate:

• AuthScheme: Set this to Basic.
• User: Set this to your UKG Pro HCM username.
• Password: Set this to your UKG Pro HCM password.
• ProfileSettings: Set this to a semicolon-separated list containing:
  • Host: Your UKG Pro HCM tenant hostname (e.g., yourcompany.ultipro.com).
  • CustomerAPIKey: Your UKG customer API key. This is passed as the US-CUSTOMER-API-KEY request header on each API call.

To obtain your customer API key, contact your UKG Pro HCM administrator or refer to the UKG Developer Portal at https://developer.ukg.com.

You can then follow the steps below to use the Data Explorer to create a FireDAC connection to UKG Pro HCM.

1. In a new VCL Forms application, expand the FireDAC node in the Data Explorer.
2. Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
3. Click Add New Connection.
4. Enter a name for the connection.
5. In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for UKG Pro HCM.

Create VCL Applications with Connectivity to UKG Pro HCM Data

Follow the procedure below to start querying UKG Pro HCM data from a simple VCL application that displays the results of a query in a grid.

1. Drop a TFDConnection component onto the form and set the following properties:

   • ConnectionDefName: Select the FireDAC connection to UKG Pro HCM.
   • Connected: Select True from the menu and, in the dialog that appears, enter your credentials.

2. Drop a TFDQuery component onto the form and set the properties below:

   • Connection: Set this property to the TFDConnection component, if this component is not already specified.

   • SQL: Click the button in the SQL property and enter a query. For example:

     
     SELECT UserId, UserName FROM UserDetails WHERE UserStatus = 'A'
     

   • Active: Set this property to true.

3. Drop a TDataSource component onto the form and set the following property:

   • DataSet: In the menu for this property, select the name of the TFDQuery component.

4. Drop a TDBGrid control onto the form and set the following property:

   • DataSource: Select the name of the TDataSource.
5. Drop a TFDGUIxWaitCursor onto the form — this is required to avoid a run-time error.

Execute Commands to UKG Pro HCM with FireDAC Components

You can use the TFDConnection and TFQuery components to execute queries to UKG Pro HCM data. This section provides UKG Pro HCM-specific examples of executing queries with the TFQuery component.

Connect to UKG Pro HCM Data

To connect to the data source, set the Connected property of the TFDConnection component to true. You can set the same properties from code:

FDConnection1->ConnectionDefName = "CData UKG Pro HCM ODBC Source";
FDConnection1->Connected = true;

To connect the TFDQuery component to UKG Pro HCM data, set the Connection property of the component. When a TFDQuery component is added at design time, its Connection property is automatically set to point to a TFDConnection on the form, as in the application above.

Create Parameterized Queries

To create a parameterized query, use the following syntax below:

FDQuery1->SQL->Text = "select * from UserDetails where userstatus = :UserStatus";
FDQuery1->ParamByName("userstatus")->AsString = "A";
FDQuery1->Open();

The example above binds a string-type input parameter by name and then opens the dataset that results.

Prepare the Statement

Preparing statements is costly in system resources and time. The connection must be active and open while a statement is prepared. By default, FireDAC prepares the query to avoid recompiling the same query over and over. To disable statement preparation, set ResourceOptions.DirectExecute to True; for example, when you need to execute a query only once.

Execute a Query

To execute a query that returns a result set, such as a select query, use the Open method. The Open method executes the query, returns the result set, and opens it. The Open method will return an error if the query does not produce a result set.

FDQuery1->SQL->Text = "select * from UserDetails where userstatus = :UserStatus";
FDQuery1->ParamByName("userstatus")->AsString = "A";
FDQuery1->Open();

Related Articles

Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.

• DataBind Controls to UKG Pro HCM Data in Delphi
• Viewing UKG Pro HCM Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer
• Build a Simple VCL Application for UKG Pro HCM Data