Connect to Webex Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

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

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

Connect to Webex 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.

To authenticate to Webex, and connect to your own data or to allow other users to connect to their data, you can use the OAuth standard.

Using OAuth Authentication

First, you will need to register an OAuth application with Webex. To do so, navigate to the Webex Developer Portal and create a new integration. Your OAuth application will be assigned a client id and a client secret.

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 the client_id that is specified in your app settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in your app settings.
  • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI that is specified in your app settings.
  • Scope: Set this in ProfileSettings to specify the OAuth scopes requested during authorization. Multiple scopes can be space-separated (e.g. ProfileSettings='Scope=spark:all spark:kms').

Example connection string:

Profile=C:\profiles\Webex.apip;Authscheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;ProfileSettings='Scope=your_scopes';

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for Webex

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for Webex. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with Webex 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 Webex DSN in the Data Source menu.
  4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Webex 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 Webex 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_adminauditevents.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_adminauditevents.Retrieve();

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