Query Zoho Creator Data as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect Cloud to query Zoho Creator data through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for Zoho Creator in Connect Cloud and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for Zoho Creator, allowing you to easily query live Zoho Creator data in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Zoho Creator, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Zoho Creator data.

Configure Zoho Creator Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to Zoho Creator from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Zoho Creator data from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a Zoho Creator connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Zoho Creator" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Zoho Creator.

   The connector is already registered with Zoho Creator as an OAuth application.

   If you would prefer to use your own custom OAuth app, see the Help documentation.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Zoho Creator Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Zoho Creator data from Node.js.

Query Zoho Creator from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to Zoho Creator with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for Zoho Creator (ZohoCreator1)

Connect to Zoho Creator data and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: 'user@mydomain.com', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'ZohoCreator1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
    if(err){
        throw err ;
    }
    new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM Leave_Types', (err, result) => {
        console.dir(result)
    })
        
});

sql.on('error', err => {
    console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})