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This article demonstrates how to access QuickBooks Online data from PowerBuilder using the QuickBooks Online JDBC Driver.
The CData JDBC driver for QuickBooks Online 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 QuickBooks Online in PowerBuilder.
This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for QuickBooks Online to perform reads and writes.
About QuickBooks Online Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from QuickBooks Online. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Realize high-performance data reads thanks to push-down query optimization for complex operations like filters and aggregations.
- Read, write, update, and delete QuickBooks Online data.
- Run reports, download attachments, and send or void invoices directly from code using SQL stored procedures.
- Connect securely using OAuth and modern cryptography, including TLS 1.2, SHA-256, and ECC.
Many users access live QuickBooks Online data from preferred analytics tools like Power BI and Excel, directly from databases with federated access, and use CData solutions to easily integrate QuickBooks Online data with automated workflows for business-to-business communications.
For more information on how customers are solving problems with CData's QuickBooks Online solutions, refer to our blog: https://www.cdata.com/blog/360-view-of-your-customers.
Getting Started
Connect to QuickBooks Online Data from PowerBuilder
Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for QuickBooks Online. 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.quickbooksonline.QuickBooksOnlineDriver
- URL: Enter the JDBC URL.
QuickBooks Online uses the OAuth authentication standard. OAuth requires the authenticating user to log in through the browser. To authenticate using OAuth, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can obtain your own by registering an app with Intuit. Additionally, if you want to connect to sandbox data, set UseSandbox to true.
See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.
Built-in Connection String Designer
For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the QuickBooks Online JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.quickbooksonline.jar
Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard. A typical JDBC URL is below:
jdbc:quickbooksonline:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
- To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using QuickBooks Online 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 QuickBooks Online 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.quickbooksonline.QuickBooksOnlineDriver',URL='jdbc:quickbooksonline:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH";
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_customers.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_customers.Retrieve();