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This article demonstrates how to access MongoDB data from PowerBuilder using the MongoDB JDBC Driver.
The CData JDBC driver for MongoDB is a standards-based control that can be used from any platform or development technology that supports JDBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for MongoDB in PowerBuilder.
This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for MongoDB to perform reads and writes.
About MongoDB Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from MongoDB has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Access data from MongoDB 2.6 and above, ensuring broad usability across various MongoDB versions.
- Easily manage unstructured data thanks to flexible NoSQL (learn more here: Leading-Edge Drivers for NoSQL Integration).
- Leverage feature advantages over other NoSQL drivers and realize functional benefits when working with MongoDB data (learn more here: A Feature Comparison of Drivers for NoSQL).
MongoDB's flexibility means that it can be used as a transactional, operational, or analytical database. That means CData customers use our solutions to integrate their business data with MongoDB or integrate their MongoDB data with their data warehouse (or both). Customers also leverage our live connectivity options to analyze and report on MongoDB directly from their preferred tools, like Power BI and Tableau.
For more details on MongoDB use case and how CData enhances your MongoDB experience, check out our blog post: The Top 10 Real-World MongoDB Use Cases You Should Know in 2024.
Getting Started
Connect to MongoDB Data from PowerBuilder
Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for MongoDB. You can use a database profile to save connection properties. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.
Add the driver JAR to the PowerBuilder classpath. Set the CLASSPATH system environment variable to the path to the driver JAR, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
Note: If you are using PowerBuilder Classic, you can also add the path to the driver JAR by clicking Tools -> System Options -> Java.
- Click Tools -> Database Painter.
- Right-click the JDBC node and click New Profile.
- In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
- Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
- Driver Name: Enter the class name of the driver, cdata.jdbc.mongodb.MongoDBDriver
- URL: Enter the JDBC URL.
Set the Server, Database, User, and Password connection properties to connect to MongoDB. To access MongoDB collections as tables you can use automatic schema discovery or write your own schema definitions. Schemas are defined in .rsd files, which have a simple format. You can also execute free-form queries that are not tied to the schema.
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the MongoDB JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.mongodb.jar
Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard. A typical JDBC URL is below:
jdbc:mongodb:Server=MyServer;Port=27017;Database=test;User=test;Password=Password;
- To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using MongoDB Data with PowerBuilder Controls
You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to JDBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve MongoDB data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:
SQLCA.DBMS = "JDBC"
SQLCA.AutoCommit = False
SQLCA.DBParm = "Driver='cdata.jdbc.mongodb.MongoDBDriver',URL='jdbc:mongodb:Server=MyServer;Port=27017;Database=test;User=test;Password=Password;";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_restaurants.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_restaurants.Retrieve();