Google Calendar Connector for C#

Read / write Google Calendar data inside your app; perform many Google Calendar operations without coding, just using easy to use high performance API Connector for Google Calendar

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Google Calendar data in C#. We will use high-performance Google Calendar Connector to easily connect to Google Calendar and then access the data inside C#.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Google Calendar Connector for C# is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

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Connect to Google Calendar in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline)

Connect to Google Calendar in Azure Data Factory (SSIS)

Connect to Google Calendar in Talend Studio

Connect to Google Calendar in UiPath

Connect to Google Calendar in PowerShell

Connect to Google Calendar in ODBC

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Google Calendar using C# we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Google Calendar. We will later be able to read data using C#. Perform these steps:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

ZappySys API Driver
- Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
- Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Google Calendar" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Google Calendar" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

GoogleCalendarDSN

Google Calendar

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

User Account [OAuth]

User accounts represent a developer, administrator, or any other person who interacts with Google APIs and services. User accounts are managed as Google Accounts, either with Google Workspace or Cloud Identity. They can also be user accounts that are managed by a third-party identity provider and federated with Workforce Identity Federation. [API reference]

Steps how to get and use Google Calendar credentials

Follow these steps on how to create Client Credentials (User Account principle) to authenticate and access Google Calendar API in SSIS package or ODBC data source:

WARNING: If you are planning to automate processes, we recommend that you use a Service Account authentication method. In case, you still need to use User Account, then make sure you use a system/generic account (e.g. automation@my-company.com). When you use a personal account which is tied to a specific employee profile and that employee leaves the company, the token may become invalid and any automated processes using that token will start to fail.

Step-1: Create project

This step is optional, if you already have a project in Google Cloud and can use it. However, if you don't, proceed with these simple steps to create one:

First of all, go to Google API Console.
Then click Select a project button and then click NEW PROJECT button:
Name your project and click CREATE button:
Wait until the project is created:
Done! Let's proceed to the next step.

Step-2: Enable Google Calendar API

In this step we will enable Google Calendar API:

Select your project on the top bar:
Then click the "hamburger" icon on the top left and access APIs & Services:
Now let's enable several APIs by clicking ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES button:
In the search bar search for calendar and then locate and select Google Calendar API:
Enable Google Calendar API:
Done! Let's proceed to the next step.

Step-3: Create OAuth application

First of all, click the "hamburger" icon on the top left and then hit VIEW ALL PRODUCTS:
Then access Google Auth Platform to start creating an OAuth application:
Start by pressing GET STARTED button:
Next, continue by filling in App name and User support email fields:
Choose Internal option, if it's enabled, otherwise select External:
Optional step if you used Internal option in the previous step. Nevertheless, if you had to use External option, then click ADD USERS to add a user:
Then add your contact Email address:
Finally, check the checkbox and click CREATE button:
Done! Let's create Client Credentials in the next step.

Step-4: Create Client Credentials

In Google Auth Platform, select Clients menu item and click CREATE CLIENT button:
Choose Desktop app as Application type and name your credentials:
Continue by opening the created credentials:
Finally, copy Client ID and Client secret for the later step:
Done! We have all the data needed for authentication, let's proceed to the last step!

Step-5: Configure connection

Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use previously copied values in User Account authentication configuration:
- In the ClientId field paste the Client ID value.
- In the ClientSecret field paste the Client secret value.
Press Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
Finally, click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
Done! Now you are ready to use Google Calendar Connector!

Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

GoogleCalendarDSN

Google Calendar

User Account [OAuth]

https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/

Required Parameters
UseCustomApp	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
ClientId
ClientSecret
Scope	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	403\|429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True
Redirect URL (Only for Web App)

Service Account [OAuth]

Service accounts are accounts that do not represent a human user. They provide a way to manage authentication and authorization when a human is not directly involved, such as when an application needs to access Google Cloud resources. Service accounts are managed by IAM. [API reference]

Steps how to get and use Google Calendar credentials

Follow these steps on how to create Service Account to authenticate and access Google Calendar API in SSIS package or ODBC data source:

Step-1: Create project

This step is optional, if you already have a project in Google Cloud and can use it. However, if you don't, proceed with these simple steps to create one:

First of all, go to Google API Console.
Then click Select a project button and then click NEW PROJECT button:
Name your project and click CREATE button:
Wait until the project is created:
Done! Let's proceed to the next step.

Step-2: Enable Google Calendar API

In this step we will enable Google Calendar API:

Select your project on the top bar:
Then click the "hamburger" icon on the top left and access APIs & Services:
Now let's enable several APIs by clicking ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES button:
In the search bar search for calendar and then locate and select Google Calendar API:
Enable Google Calendar API:
Done! Let's proceed to the next step.

Step-3: Create Service Account

Use the steps below to create a Service Account in Google Cloud:

First of all, go to IAM & Admin in Google Cloud console:
Once you do that, click Service Accounts on the left side and click CREATE SERVICE ACCOUNT button:
Then name your service account and click CREATE AND CONTINUE button:
Continue by clicking Select a role dropdown and start granting service account Project Viewer roles:
Find Project group and select Viewer role:
Finish adding roles by clicking CONTINUE button:

You can always add or modify permissions later in IAM & Admin.
Finally, in the last step, just click button DONE:
Done! We are ready to add a Key to this service account in the next step.

Step-4: Add Key to Service Account

We are ready to add a Key (P12 certificate) to the created Service Account:

In Service Accounts open newly created service account:
Next, copy email address of your service account for the later step:
Continue by selecting KEYS tab, then press ADD KEY dropdown, and click Create new key menu item:
Finally, select P12 option and hit CREATE button:
P12 certificate downloads into your machine. We have all the data needed for authentication, let's proceed to the last step!

Step-5: Share Google Calendar with Service Account

Now it's time to grant Google Calendar read/write permissions to the created service account:

Login to https://calendar.google.com with Google account credentials whose calendar you want to share with the service account.
On the top right click gear icon and click Settings item to open configuration.
Then on the left, click Settings of my calendars section.
Locate the calendar you want to share and select it.
In the dropdown hit Share with specific people or groups and click Add people and groups button.
Enter the service account email address we obtained in the previous section.
Finally, choose the permissions, e.g. Make changes to events:
Click Send button to share the calendar.
That's it! Let's proceed to the configuration!

Step-6: Configure connection

Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and configure these fields in Service Account authentication configuration:
- In the Service Account Email field paste the service account Email address value you copied in the previous step.
- In the Service Account Private Key Path (i.e. *.p12) field use downloaded certificate's file path.
Done! Now you are ready to use Google Calendar Connector!

Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

GoogleCalendarDSN

Google Calendar

Service Account [OAuth]

https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/

Required Parameters
Service Account Email	Fill-in the parameter...
Service Account Private Key Path (i.e. *.p12)	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Scope	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	403\|429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True
Impersonate As (Enter Email Id)

Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

ZappySys API Driver - Google Calendar

Read / write Google Calendar data inside your app; perform many Google Calendar operations without coding, just using easy to use high performance API Connector for Google Calendar

GoogleCalendarDSN
Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in C# to retrieve data from Google Calendar. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * FROM Calendars
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Google Calendar API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in C#:
ZappySys API Driver - Google Calendar

Read / write Google Calendar data inside your app; perform many Google Calendar operations without coding, just using easy to use high performance API Connector for Google Calendar

GoogleCalendarDSN
```
SELECT * FROM Calendars
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Google Calendar API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Google Calendar servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Watch this video on YouTube

Read data in C#

Using ODBC DSN

Create a new Console project and use this code to read the data:

"GoogleCalendarDSN";
Press F5 to run the code and read the data:

Here is the code in text format:

using System;
using System.Data.Odbc;

namespace ConsoleApp {
    class Program {
        static void Main() {
            var dsn = "GoogleCalendarDSN";
            using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(String.Format("DSN={0}", dsn)))
            {
                conn.Open();
                var cmd = new OdbcCommand("SELECT * FROM Products", conn);
                
                //Increase the timeout duration from the default 30 seconds, which may be insufficient in certain scenarios
                cmd.CommandTimeout=600; // 600-Seconds
                
                var rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader();
                while (rdr.Read())
                {
                    for (int i = 0; i < rdr.FieldCount; i++)
                    {
                            Console.Write("{0}\t", rdr[i]);
                    }
                    Console.WriteLine();
                }
            }
            Console.ReadKey();
        }
    }
}

Using a full ODBC connection string

If you want to avoid being dependent on a DSN and creating multiple DSNs for each platform (x86, x64), then you can use a fully qualified connection string. Simply go to your DSN and copy the Connection String:

Open ODBC data source configuration and click Copy settings:

ZappySys API Driver - Configuration [Version: 2.0.1.10418]

ZappySys API Driver - Google Calendar

Read / write Google Calendar data inside your app; perform many Google Calendar operations without coding, just using easy to use high performance API Connector for Google Calendar

GoogleCalendarDSN
The window opens, telling us the connection string was successfully copied to the clipboard:

Then in your C# code, pass the connection string as an argument when calling the OdbcConnection object's constructor, for example:

var connectionString = @"DRIVER={ZappySys API Driver};ServiceUrl=https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/;Provider=Google;ScopeSeparator={space};";

using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString))
{
    // your code goes here
}

Limitations of using a full connection string

Despite using a full ODBC connection string may be very convenient it comes with a limitation: it's length is limited to 1024 symbols (or sometimes more). It usually happens when API provider generates a very long Refresh Token when OAuth is at play. If you are using such a long ODBC connection string, you may get this error:

"Connection string exceeds maximum allowed length of 1024"

But there is a solution to this by storing the full connection string in a file. Follow the steps below to achieve this:

Open your ODBC data source.
Click Copy settings button to copy a full connection string (see the previous section on how to accomplish that).
Then create a new file, let's say, in C:\temp\odbc-connection-string.txt.
Continue by pasting the copied connection string into a newly created file and save it.
Finally, the last step! Just construct a shorter ODBC connection string using this format:
```
DRIVER={ZappySys API Driver};SettingsFile=C:\temp\odbc-connection-string.txt
```
Our troubles are over! Now you should be able to use this connection string in C# with no problems.

This feature requires ODBC PowerPack v1.9.0 or later.