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Consume HCL Domino OData Feeds in PowerBuilder
This article demonstrates how to consume HCL Domino data as OData feeds from PowerBuilder using the API Server.
The CData API Server, when paired with the ADO.NET Provider for HCL Domino (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers), produces secure feeds of HCL Domino data that you can consume in PowerBuilder DataWindows. The API Server supports the major Web services, including OData, Atom, JSON, HTML, CSV, TSV, and RSS. It also supports the major authentication schemes and SSL.
This article shows how to create a DataWindow that uses the CData API Server to retrieve data.
Set Up the API Server
Follow the steps below to begin producing secure HCL Domino OData services:
Deploy
The API Server runs on your own server. On Windows, you can deploy using the stand-alone server or IIS. On a Java servlet container, drop in the API Server WAR file. See the help documentation for more information and how-tos.
The API Server is also easy to deploy on Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, and Heroku.
Connect to HCL Domino
After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for HCL Domino, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to HCL Domino by clicking Settings -> Connections and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.
Connecting to Domino
To connect to Domino data, set the following properties:
- URL: The host name or IP of the server hosting the Domino database. Include the port of the server hosting the Domino database. For example: http://sampleserver:1234/
- DatabaseScope: The name of a scope in the Domino Web UI. The driver exposes forms and views for the schema governed by the specified scope. In the Domino Admin UI, select the Scopes menu in the sidebar. Set this property to the name of an existing scope.
Authenticating with Domino
Domino supports authenticating via login credentials or an Azure Active Directory OAuth application:
Login Credentials
To authenticate with login credentials, set the following properties:
- AuthScheme: Set this to "OAuthPassword"
- User: The username of the authenticating Domino user
- Password: The password associated with the authenticating Domino user
The driver uses the login credentials to automatically perform an OAuth token exchange.
AzureAD
This authentication method uses Azure Active Directory as an IdP to obtain a JWT token. You need to create a custom OAuth application in Azure Active Directory and configure it as an IdP. To do so, follow the instructions in the Help documentation. Then set the following properties:
- AuthScheme: Set this to "AzureAD"
- InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
- OAuthClientId: The Client ID obtained when setting up the custom OAuth application.
- OAuthClientSecret: The Client secret obtained when setting up the custom OAuth application.
- CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your app. For example: https://localhost:33333
- AzureTenant: The Microsoft Online tenant being used to access data. Supply either a value in the form companyname.microsoft.com or the tenant ID.
The tenant ID is the same as the directory ID shown in the Azure Portal's Azure Active Directory > Properties page.
You can then choose the HCL Domino entities you want to allow the API Server access to by clicking Settings -> Resources.
Additionally, click Settings -> Server and change the following settings for compatibility with PowerBuilder:
- Default Format: Select XML (Atom) in the menu.
- Default Version: Select 2.0 in the menu.
Authorize API Server Users
After determining the OData services you want to produce, authorize users by clicking Settings -> Users. The API Server uses authtoken-based authentication and supports the major authentication schemes. Access can also be restricted based on IP address; by default, only connections to the local machine are allowed. You can authenticate as well as encrypt connections with SSL.
Create a Profile for HCL Domino
Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile for the OData API of the API Server. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.
- Click Tools -> Database Painter.
- Right-click the OData node and click New Profile.
- In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
- Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
- URI: Enter the URL to the OData endpoint of the API Server. This URL will resemble the one below:
http://MyServer:8032/api.rsc - Supply User Id and Password: Click this option to use HTTP Basic authentication. Note that the API Server also supports Windows authentication.
- User Id: Enter the name of an user in the API Server.
- Password: Enter the authtoken of an user in the API Server.
- To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.
Using HCL Domino Data with PowerBuilder Controls
You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to OData feeds and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve HCL Domino data into a DataWindow.
You can add the following code to the open method:
SQLCA.DBMS = "ODT"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='URI=http://MyServer:8032/api.rsc;UID=MyAPIUser;PWD=MyAuthtoken'";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_byname.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_byname.Retrieve();
