FTP/SFTP XML File Connector for Python In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate FTP/SFTP XML File data in Python. We will use high-performance FTP/SFTP XML File Connector to easily connect to FTP/SFTP XML File and then access the data inside Python. FTP/SFTP XML File Connector can be used to read XML Files stored on FTP Sites (Classic FTP, SFTP or FTPS). Using this you can easily read FTP/SFTP XML File data. It's supports latest security standards, and optimized for large data files. It also supports reading compressed files (e.g. GZip /Zip). Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that! Download Documentation FTP/SFTP XML File Connector for Python is based on ZappySys SFTP XML 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.

Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File Connector in other apps Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in SSIS Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in SQL Server Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in Power BI Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in SSRS Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in Informatica Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in MS Access Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in MS Excel Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in SSAS Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in C# Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in JAVA Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in Tableau Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in SAP Crystal Reports Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline) Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in Azure Data Factory (SSIS) Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in Talend Studio Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in UiPath Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in PowerShell Connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in ODBC

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys SFTP XML Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from FTP/SFTP XML File using Python we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from FTP/SFTP XML File. We will later be able to read data using Python. 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 SFTP XML Driver

   ZappySys SFTP XML 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.

4. Create and configure a connection for the FTP/SFTP storage account.

   

5. You can use select your desired single file by clicking [...] path button.

   mybucket/dbo.tblNames.xml

   dbo.tblNames.xml

   
   
   
   ----------OR----------

   You can also read the multiple files stored in FTP/SFTP Storage using wildcard pattern supported e.g. dbo.tblNames*.xml.
   

   Note: If you want to operation with multiple files then use wild card pattern as below 
   (when you use wild card pattern in source path then system will treat target path as folder regardless you end with slash)
   
   mybucket/dbo.tblNames.xml (will read only single .XML file)
   mybucket/dbo.tbl*.xml (all files starting with file name)
   mybucket/*.xml (all files with .xml Extension and located under folder subfolder)
   

   mybucket/dbo.tblNames*.xml

   
   
   
   ----------OR----------

   You can also read the zip and gzip compressed files also without extracting it in using FTP/SFTP XML Source File Task.

   mybucket/dbo.tblNames*.gz

   

6. Now select/enter Path expression in Path textbox to extract only specific part of XML string as below ($.value[*] will get content of value attribute from XML document. Value attribute is array of XML documents so we have to use [*] to indicate we want all records of that array)
   

   NOTE: Here, We are using our desired filter, but you need to select your desired filter based on your requirement.
   Go to Preview Tab.
   

7. Navigate to the Preview Tab and let's explore the different modes available to access the data.
   

   1. --- Using Direct Query ---

      Click on Preview Tab, Select Table from Tables Dropdown and select [value] and click Preview.
      

   2. --- Using Stored Procedure ---

      Note : For this you have to Save ODBC Driver configuration and then again reopen to configure same driver. For more information click here.
      Click on the Custom Objects Tab, Click on Add button and select Add Procedure and Enter an appropriate name and Click on OK button to create.
      

      1. --- Without Parameters ---

         Now Stored Procedure can be created with or without parameters (see example below). If you use parameters then Set default value otherwise it may fail to compilation)
         
         

      2. --- With Parameters ---

         Note : Here you can use Placeholder with Paramters in Stored Procedure. Example : SELECT * FROM $ WHERE OrderID = '<@OrderID, FUN_TRIM>' or CustId = '<@CustId>' and Total >= '<@Total>'
         

   3. --- Using Virtual Table ---

      Note : For this you have to Save ODBC Driver configuration and then again reopen to configure same driver. For more information click here.

      ZappySys APi Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

      Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 Buckets with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting).

      vt__Customers
      DataPath=mybucket_1/customers.xml
      
      vt__Orders
      DataPath=mybucket_2/orders.xml
      
      vt__Products
      DataPath=mybucket_3/products.xml
      

      1. Click on the Custom Objects Tab, Click on Add button and select Add Table and Enter an appropriate name and Click on OK button to create.
         
      2. Once you see Query Builder Window on screen Configure it.
         
      3. Click on Preview Tab, Select Virtual Table(prefix with vt__) from Tables Dropdown or write SQL query with Virtual Table name and click Preview.
         

8. Click OK to finish creating the data source

9. That's it; we are done. In a few clicks we configured the to Read the FTP/SFTP XML File data using ZappySys FTP/SFTP XML File Connector

Read data in Python

Using ODBC DSN

1. Python code to get the data:
   

   FtpSftpXmlFileConnectorDSN')

   

2. When you run the code it will make the API call and read the data:
   

3. Here is Python program's code in text format:

   
       import pyodbc
       conn = pyodbc.connect('DSN=FtpSftpXmlFileConnectorDSN')
   
       cursor = conn.cursor()
   
       #execute query to fetch data from API service
       cursor.execute("SELECT id,title FROM products")
   
       row = cursor.fetchone()
       while row:
           print(row)
           row = cursor.fetchone()
   
       ##For loop example
       #for row in cursor:
       #    print(row)
   

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:

1. Open ODBC data source configuration and click Copy settings:
   

   ZappySys SFTP XML Driver - FTP/SFTP XML File Connector

   FTP/SFTP XML File Connector can be used to read XML Files stored on FTP Sites (Classic FTP, SFTP or FTPS). Using this you can easily read FTP/SFTP XML File data. It's supports latest security standards, and optimized for large data files. It also supports reading compressed files (e.g. GZip /Zip).

   FtpSftpXmlFileConnectorDSN

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

3. Then in your Python code use Connection String when initializing OdbcConnection object, for example:

   conn = pyodbc.connect('DRIVER={ZappySys SFTP XML Driver};ServiceUrl=https://yourservices.provider.com/api/xxxx....;AuthName=Http;')

How to install `pyodbc` in the Python?

Advanced topics

Create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
   

2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
   

3. Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver:
   Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here
   

   CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
       @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
    AS
       SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
   

   
   

4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:
   

   Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';

   
   

5. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
   As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.
   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LINKED_SERVER_TO_FTP_SFTP_XML_FILE_CONNECTOR_IN_DATA_GATEWAY], 'EXEC usp_get_orders @fromdate=''1996-07-30''')

   
   

6. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
   

Create Custom Virtual Table in ZappySys Driver

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
   

2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
   

3. And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.

4. Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
   Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here
   

   SELECT
     "ShipCountry",
     "OrderID",
     "CustomerID",
     "EmployeeID",
     "OrderDate",
     "RequiredDate",
     "ShippedDate",
     "ShipVia",
     "Freight",
     "ShipName",
     "ShipAddress",
     "ShipCity",
     "ShipRegion",
     "ShipPostalCode"
   FROM "Orders"
   Where "ShipCountry"='USA'

   
   

5. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:
   

   SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"

   
   

6. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
   As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.
   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LINKED_SERVER_TO_FTP_SFTP_XML_FILE_CONNECTOR_IN_DATA_GATEWAY], 'EXEC [usp_get_orders] ''1996-01-01''')

   
   

7. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
   

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to FTP/SFTP XML File in Python and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. We encourage you to download FTP/SFTP XML File Connector for Python and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download FTP/SFTP XML File Connector for Python Documentation

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