Import Real-Time Salesforce Data 360 Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce Data 360, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Salesforce Data 360 data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Salesforce Data 360 data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce Data 360 and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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

Salesforce Data 360 supports authentication via the OAuth standard.

OAuth

Set AuthScheme to OAuth.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Salesforce Data 360 console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation.

Before you connect, set these properties:

• InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthClientId (custom applications only): The Client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
• OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): The Client Secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the driver opens Salesforce Data 360's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

The driver then completes the OAuth process as follows:

• Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
• Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
• Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation so that they persist across connections.

For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications and Headless Machines, refer to the Help documentation.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Salesforce Data 360 Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services.
2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button.
3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Salesforce Data 360 Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration.
4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataSalesforce Data 360ODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

   The following code queries the data source:

               
           <cfquery name="Salesforce Data 360Query" dataSource="CDataSalesforce Data 360ODBC"> 
             SELECT * FROM Account 
           </cfquery> 
       

   And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML:

               
             <cftable  
             query = "Salesforce Data 360Query" 
             border = "1" 
             colHeaders 
             colSpacing = "2" 
             headerLines = "2" 
             HTMLTable 
             maxRows = "500" 
             startRow = "1"> 
   
             <cfcol header="<b>[Account ID]</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="[Account ID]"/> 
   
             <cfcol header="<b>[Account Name]</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="[Account Name]"/> 
   
             ...
   
           </cftable> 
       

   Full code, including the HTML portion is available below:

               
           <html> 
           <head><title>CData Software | Salesforce Data 360 Account Table Demo </title></head> 
           <body> 
           <cfoutput>#ucase("Salesforce Data 360 Account Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
           <cfquery name="Salesforce Data 360Query" dataSource="CDataSalesforce Data 360ODBC"> 
   
             SELECT * FROM Account 
   
           </cfquery> 
           <cftable  
             query = "Salesforce Data 360Query" 
             border = "1" 
             colHeaders 
             colSpacing = "2" 
             headerLines = "2" 
             HTMLTable 
             maxRows = "500" 
             startRow = "1"> 
             <cfcol header="<b>[Account ID]</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="[Account ID]"/> 
   
             <cfcol header="<b>[Account Name]</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="[Account Name]"/> 
   
             ...
   
           </cftable> 
           </body> 
   
           </html>  
       

6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Salesforce Data 360 data!

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example:

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =  

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce Data 360 and start building Salesforce Data 360-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.