DataBind Wijmo Grid to Zendesk Data

The API Server, when paired with the ADO.NET Provider for Zendesk (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers), provides Zendesk data as Web services, which enable connectivity to live data. This article shows how to consume JSONP-formatted Zendesk data from a Wijmo Grid.

Set Up the API Server

Follow the steps below to begin producing secure Zendesk 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 Zendesk

After you deploy the API Server and the ADO.NET Provider for Zendesk, provide authentication values and other connection properties needed to connect to Zendesk by clicking Settings -> Connections and adding a new connection in the API Server administration console.

Connecting to Zendesk

To connect, set the URL and provide authentication. The URL is your Zendesk Support URL: https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com.

Authenticating to Zendesk

You can authenticate using the Basic or OAuth methods.

Using Basic Authentication

To use Basic authentication, specify your email address and password or your email address and an API token. Set User to your email address and follow the steps below to provide the Password or ApiToken.

• Enable password access in the Zendesk Support admin interface at Admin > Channels > API.
• Manage API tokens in the Zendesk Support Admin interface at Admin > Channels > API. More than one token can be active at the same time. Deleting a token deactivates it permanently.

Using OAuth Authentication

See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for an authentication guide.

You can then choose the Zendesk entities you want to allow the API Server to access by clicking Settings -> Resources. This article uses Tickets as an example.

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 Real-Time Grid

Follow the steps below to consume Zendesk data from the Wijmo JavaScript controls:

1. Load the required Wijmo, jQuery, and Knockout libraries:

   
   <script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.11.1.min.js"></script>
   <script src="http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.11.0/jquery-ui.min.js"></script>
     
   <!--Theme-->
   <link href="http://cdn.wijmo.com/themes/aristo/jquery-wijmo.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
     
   <!--Wijmo Widgets CSS-->
   <link href="http://cdn.wijmo.com/jquery.wijmo-pro.all.3.20161.90.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
     
   <!--Wijmo Widgets JavaScript-->
   <script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/jquery.wijmo-open.all.3.20161.90.min.js"></script>
   <script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/jquery.wijmo-pro.all.3.20161.90.min.js"></script>
   <script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/interop/wijmo.data.ajax.3.20161.90.js"></script>
    
   <!--Knockout JS Library-->
   <!-- Both of the links below can work -->
   <script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/wijmo/external/knockout-2.2.0.js"></script> 
   <!--<script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/amd-js/3.20161.90/knockout-3.1.0.js"></script>--> 
   
   <!--Wijmo Knockout Integration Library-->
   <script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/interop/knockout.wijmo.3.20161.90.js"></script>
   

2. Create a ViewModel and connect to it using the ODataView. You will need to replace the placeholder values for the URL of the API Server, an API Server user, and the authtoken for that user.

   
   <script id="scriptInit">
   $.support.cors = true;
   var viewModel;
   
   function ViewModel() {
     var ticketsView = new wijmo.data.ODataView("http://MyServer:MyPort/api.rsc/Tickets", {
     ajax: {
       dataType: "jsonp", 
       username: "MyUser",
       password: "MyAuthtoken",
       data: { "$inlinecount": null }
     },
     pageSize: 10
   });
     ticketsView.refresh();
     ticketsView.nextPage();
     this.tickets = ticketsView;
     this.prevPage = function () {ticketsView.prevPage();};
     this.nextPage = function () {ticketsView.nextPage();};
   }
   
   $(document).ready(function () {
      viewModel = new ViewModel();
      ko.applyBindings(viewModel, $(".container").get(0));
   });
   </script>
   

3. DataBind: Below is a simple table with some paging buttons, which you can paste into the body section of your markup.

   
   <h2>Connect to Live Zendesk Data in Real Time</h2>
   
   <h3>Tickets</h3>
   <div>
     <button title="previous page" class="pagebuttons" data-bind="click: prevPage, button: {}"><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-seek-prev" /></button>
     <button title="next page" class="pagebuttons" data-bind="click: nextPage, button: {}"><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-seek-next" /></button>
   </div>
   <table id="demo-grid" data-bind="wijgrid: { 
     data: tickets, 
     showFilter: true, 
     allowPaging: true,
     pagerSettings: { position: 'none'},
     columnsAutogenerationMode: 'append',
   }" >
   </table>   
   

Below is the resulting grid. You can filter and sort through pages of Zendesk data.