C# Salesforce Connector In this article you will learn how to integrate Salesforce data to C# (live / bi-directional connection to Salesforce). Salesforce Connector can be used to extract/load large amount of data from/in Salesforce.com without any programming. You can use simple Table mode or Query mode with full SOQL query language support (SOQL=Salesforce.com Object Query Language).. Using Salesforce Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within C#. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that. Download  Help File  Buy  Driver mentioned in this article is part of ODBC PowerPack which is a collection of high-performance Drivers for various API data source (i.e. REST API, JSON, XML, CSV, Amazon S3 and many more). Using familiar SQL query language you can make live connections and read/write data from API sources or JSON / XML / CSV Files inside SQL Server (T-SQL) or your favorite Reporting (i.e. Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, SSRS, MicroStrategy, Excel, MS Access), ETL Tools (i.e. Informatica, Talend, Pentaho, SSIS). You can also call our drivers from programming languages such as JAVA, C#, Python, PowerShell etc. If you are new to ODBC and ZappySys ODBC PowerPack then check the following links to get started. ODBC PowerPack - System Requirements and Installation Getting Started - Using ODBC PowerPack ODBC API Driver Help File

See also Connect Salesforce in SSIS Connect Salesforce in SQL Server Connect Salesforce in Power BI Connect Salesforce in SSRS Connect Salesforce in Informatica Connect Salesforce in MS Access Connect Salesforce in MS Excel Connect Salesforce in SSAS Connect Salesforce in Python Connect Salesforce in JAVA Connect Salesforce in Tableau Connect Salesforce in SAP Crystal Reports Connect Salesforce in Azure Data Factory (ADF) Connect Salesforce in ODBC

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

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

1. Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
   

3. Create a User Data Source (User DSN) based on ZappySys Salesforce Driver

   ZappySys Salesforce Driver

   
   You should create a System DSN (instead of a User DSN) if the client application is launched under a Windows System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. If the client application is 32-bit (x86) running with a System DSN, use ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) instead of the 64-bit version.

4. Now, we need SalesForce Connection. Lets create it.

5. Now, When you see DSN Config Editor with zappysys logo first thing you need to do is change default DSN Name at the top and Click on Preview Tab, Select Table from Tables Dropdown or you can enter or modify a SOQL query and click on Preview Data.
   This example shows how to write simple SOQL query (Salesforce Object Query Language). It uses WHERE clause. For more SOQL Queries click here.
   SOQL is similar to database SQL query language but much simpler and many features you use in database query may not be supported in SOQL (Such as JOIN clause not supported). But you can use following Queries for Insert, Update, Delete and Upsert(Update or Insert record if not found).

   SELECT * FROM Account WHERE Name like '%Oil%'
   

6. Click OK to finish creating the data source

Read data in C# from the DSN

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

   "SalesforceDSN";

   

2. Press F5 to run the code and read the data:
   

3. Here is the code in text format:

   
   using System;
   using System.Data.Odbc;
   
   namespace ConsoleApp {
       class Program {
           static void Main() {
               var dsn = "SalesforceDSN";
               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();
           }
       }
   }
   

4. 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 . 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 Salesforce Driver};ServiceUrl=https://yourservices.provider.com/api/xxxx....;AuthName=Http;";
   
           using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString))
           {
           // ...
           }
       
   

   How to get ZappySys Driver Connection String?

   Please follow the instructions below to retrieve the connection string for the ZappySys driver.

   1. Click on the Windows Start menu.

   2. In the search bar, type ODBC and press Enter.

   3. From the search results, choose ODBC Data Sources or ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) or a similar option depending on your system architecture and ODBC driver configuration.

   4. Choose your data source from the list, then click on the Configure button.
   5. After opening the Data Source UI, you should copy the connection string to a Notepad or text file for reference.
   6. Click on Copy Connection String button.
      When you click 'Copy Connection String,' you may encounter the following option:
      Choose the third option All Settings to copy everything and click on OK button.
      
      

   That's it connection string has been successfully copied.

   How to Overcome the Long Connection String Issue

   This issue is typically caused when the connection string includes a long RefreshToken attribute (i.e. RefreshToken=xxxxxxxxxxxx...xxx, especially if it's more than 1,000 characters).

   A good solution is to supply the RefreshToken by a file. Simply copy and paste the RefreshToken into a text file and save it, and then pass that file path in the connection string instead of directly supplying the RefreshToken.

   Here is an example of a connection string that can cause the issue:

   
       var connectionString = "Driver={ZappySys Salesforce Driver};RefreshToken=xxxxxxxxxxxx...xxxxxxx;ServiceUrl=...;";
   
       using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString))
       {
       // ...
       }
   
   

   Here is an example of a connection string that has resolved the issue by moving the RefreshToken attribute to the file c:\my_refresh_token.txt:

   
       var connectionString = "Driver={ZappySys Salesforce Driver};RefreshTokenFile=c:\my_refresh_token.txt;ServiceUrl=...;";
   
       using (connectionString)
       {
       // ...
       }
   
   

Insider Insights

While using ExecuteNonQuery make sure to use output=0.

Sometime Executing `cmd.ExecuteNonQuery` in C# didn't trigger the API call immediately specifically for `INSERT`, `UPDATE`, or `DELETE` statement, as it only initiates the call when the iterator is requested. When using ExecuteNonQuery(), it's primarily intended for SQL statements that don't return data, such as UPDATE, INSERT, or DELETE. If you're not seeing any changes made by the UPDATE statement, there could be several reasons for this.

One potential reason, as you've mentioned, is related to deferred execution. In some cases, the changes made by the UPDATE statement might not be visible immediately, especially if you're not requesting any output from the query. In such cases, explicitly setting Output = 0 can force the iterator to be called, ensuring that the changes are applied.

Here's an example of how you might modify your code to include this:

using System;
using System.Data.Odbc;

namespace ConsoleApp {
    class Program {
        static void Main() {
            var dsn = "SalesforceDSN";
            using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(String.Format("DSN={0}", dsn)))
            {
                conn.Open();
                
                //We're currently referring to the example with the Products table. Please substitute it with the table of your choice.
                var cmd =new OdbcCommand("UPDATE Products SET ProductName='Chai' Where ProductID=1 WITH(Output=0)", conn);
                
                //Increase the timeout duration from the default 30 seconds, which may be insufficient in certain scenarios
                cmd.CommandTimeout=600; // 600-Seconds
                
                // Execute the query
                int rowsAffected = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();

                // Check the number of rows affected
                if (rowsAffected > 0)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Update successful.");
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("No rows were updated.");
                } 
            }
            Console.ReadKey();
        }
    }
}

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to Salesforce in C# and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Salesforce Connector for C# and try yourself see how easy it is. If you still have any question(s) then ask here or simply click on live chat icon below and ask our expert (see bottom-right corner of this page).

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