In our previous blog we saw how to read JIRA data in SQL Server. Now let’s learn how to Import SAP S/4HANA OData Service Data Into MS Access. SAP S/4HANA provides OData REST API interface to access data in your application using HTTP Protocol. We will use ODBC XML Driver to read SAP data and load into MS Access.

So, let’s get started.

About SAP HANA / OData REST API Service

You can expose your SAP Data using ODATA REST API Service. Here is a good article which shows how to expose data as OData Service.   For more information on SAP OData Service feature check this SAP help page. If you are new to OData Standard then read here to know more how OData can facilitate data extraction using HTTP REST API. If you need Sample XML based OData Service then use below test URLs.

https://services.odata.org/Northwind/Northwind.svc/
https://services.odata.org/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers
https://services.odata.org/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Orders
https://services.odata.org/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices
https://services.odata.org/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Products

Now let’s look at how to read SAP Data using ODBC Driver. At this point we assume you have exposed your data as OData Endpoint.

Read SAP S/4HANA data using XML Driver

First let’s look at steps to configure XML Driver. We will read data from SAP S/4HANA OData Service and then in next section we will look at how to load data into MS Access or other target.

1. First, Windows search, write ODBC and select the ODBC Data sources (32 bits)
   

   Open ODBC Data Source

2. As a second step, in ODBC Data source Administrator press the Add button.
   

   Add ZappySys

3. In this step, create the new data source, select ZappySys XML Driver.
   

   Add new zappysys xml driver

4. Now edit that XML data source to configure it. Enter your OData Service URL its typically like below. Replace 3 parts with your own value (i.e. replace {MY-INSTANCE},  {MY-PROJECT}, {MY-TABLE})
   

   https://{MY-INSTANCE}/sap/opu/odata/sap/{MY-PROJECT}/{MY-TABLE}

   For example if you are hosting SAP HANA in Cloud Instance then your URL may look like below
   

   https://myXXXXXX-api.s4hana.ondemand.com/sap/opu/odata/sap/MyTestProject/PurchaseOrders

   And create New ZS-HTTP connection in it select Basic Authentication and enter your SAP HANA UserID / Password to call OData Service and select the desire filter.
   

   XML Driver : SAP S/4HANA OData Service Configuration

5. Now go to Data Format / Compression (Zip/GZip) tab and select Data Format as OData to get all the records.
   

   Data Format : Odata

6. Finally, now using Query Builder and Code Generator we will generate the query and click on Preview the data.
   

   Generate Query

7. That’s it we are ready to load SAP S/4HANA OData Service data to MS Access.

Load SAP S/4HANA OData Service in MS Access

1. In MS Access, go to External Data Ribbon and select New Data Source and select From Other Sources and ODBC Database.
   

   A configuration in MS Access: Import Data From REST API

2. Select the Source and destination of the data, select Import the source data into a new table in the current database and press OK.
   

   Get External Data – ODBC Database

3. Select your newly created JSON Driver Data Source and click OK.
   
   

   Get External Data – Select your newly created ODBC Data Source (JSON Driver)

    

4. Select tables from the list of tables in the Import Objects screen and click OK.
   
   

   Get External Data – Select tables from Import Objects Screen

5. Select Save Import Steps from the screen and click on Save Import button.
   

   Get External Data – Select Save Import Steps

6. That’s it If everything is OK, you will be able to see the data.
   

   Data Imported Successfully in MS Access DB Table

How to link REST API data to Access

The linking process is very similar to importing data into the Access table. Follow steps of the previous paragraph – How to import REST API data to Access – but on step 2 select the second option to create a linked table instead. Then at last it’s asked to select a unique record identifier, don’t select anything:

Linked table approach – Don’t select a unique Record identifier

SAP S/4HANA Integration with Other BI Tools

ZappySys ODBC Drivers built using ODBC standard which is widely adopted by industry for a long time. Which mean the majority of BI Tools / Database Engines / ETL Tools already there will support native / 3rd party ODBC Drivers. Below is the small list of most popular tools / programming languages our Drivers support. If your tool / programming language doesn't appear in the below list, which means we have not documented use case but as long as your tool supports ODBC Standard, our drivers should work fine.  

BI / Reporting Tools Integration	ETL Tools Integration	Programming Languages Integration
Microsoft Power BI Tableau SSRS (SQL Reporting Services) QlikView /Qlik Sense MicroStrategy Google Sheet Microsoft Excel Microsoft Access Oracle OBIEE Many more (not in this list).....	Informatica PowerCenter (Windows) Informatica Cloud SSIS (SQL Integration Services) SQL Server Talend Data Studio Pentaho Kettle Oracle OBIEE Many more (not in this list).....	Visual Studio C# C++ JAVA Python PHP PowerShell T-SQL (Using Linked Server)

 

Conclusion

So in this blog, we learned how to Import SAP S/4HANA OData Service Data in Access using ODBC XML / SOAP API Driver in a very simple way. You can achieve many more functionalities with this tool. Check our blogs/articles on XML File / REST API Driver to find out what this tool is capable of more.

References

Finally, you can use the following links for more information about the use of SAP S/4HANA OData Service with our tools:

• SAP API Business Hub
• Landing Page for ODBC XML / SOAP API Driver, you can also find Tutorial Video here.
• Help File: Documentation of XML Driver.
• Blog/articles link: https://zappysys.com/blog/category/odbc-powerpack/odbc-drivers/xml-soap-api-driver/

The post Import SAP S/4HANA OData Service Data Into Ms Access via ODBC Driver appeared first on ZappySys Blog.

In our previous blog we saw how to export REST API to CSV using c# or Python. In this post we will look at specific example on How to Export REST API to MS Access using VBA Command Button, along with few other topics such as how to make REST API Call, how to read all Customers data from Odata using our ODBC JSON Driver and load it into the Ms Access Table.

We will go through the steps to read data from Odata and Load into MS Access using VBA Command Button.

In nutshell, this post will focus on how to make ODBC Driver Call using VBA.

So let’s get started.

Requirements

1. First of all, you will need ZappySys ODBC PowerPack installed.
2. Secondly, Make sure that Microsoft Access installed for VBA example.

An introduction to Rest API and OData

In this example, we will use OData (Open Data Protocol) to consume REST API. REST API (Representational State Transfer Application Program Interface) allows handling the interoperability between computers and the internet.

In REST API we can handle web services in different formats. In this example, we will work with the Northwind example. The Northwind example is available in this URL:

https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc

1. By default, the data is displayed in XML format. To show the data in JSON use this URL:
   

   https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/?$format=json

2. There are collections of data like Categories, CustomerDemographic, Customers, Invoices, etc. For example, the following URL will show the data of the categories collection:
   

   https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json

3. In the next steps, we will use ZappySys drivers to connect to this URL and query using OData.

Configure ODBC DSN for ZappySys JSON Driver

ODBC driver can be accessed in two modes.

1. Using DSN
2. Without DSN (Supply direct Connection String e.g. DRIVER={ZappySys JSON Driver}; …….. )

In this article, we will use the DSN approach (User DSN). We will first add the ZappySys JSON Driver in the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

Follow these steps to accomplish the task:

1. First, Windows search, write ODBC and select the ODBC Data sources (32 bits)
   

   Open ODBC Data Source

2. As a second step, in ODBC Data source Administrator press the Add button.
   

   Add ZappySys

3. In this step, create the new data source, select ZappySys JSON Driver.
   

   Add new zappysys json driver

4. Here we have several properties, write a data source name. In this example, the name will be ZappySys JSON to Excel.
5. The Data Source (URL or file path) can specify the URL of the source or if it is a local file, you can specify the local path. In this example, the URL is:
   

   https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json

   You can also specify a local file path as Data SourceFor a single file:  c:\data\myfile_1.json
   For multiple files: c:\data\myfile_*.json
6. Configure the ODBC JSON Driver like this and test the connection:
   

   Configure JSON Driver for REST API Call

7. Now click on Copy Connection string Button.
   

   ODBC Driver : Copy Connection String

8. That’s it Connection string is copied to clipboard. Now let’s use this connection string in the VBA code.

How to import REST API data to Access using VBA

1. Open the access database and create the table with the desire columns to get API data in it.
   

   Create Table in Access

2. Now close the table, and go to Create menu and click on Form Design to add the new blank form in design view.
   

   Access : Create a New Form in Design View

3. It will open the new form in the design view, now add new button with the desire text.
   

   Access : Add Command Button

4. Now right click on button and go to properties and click on … builder button and select Code Builder.
   

   Access : Code builder

5. When you click the button, it will open a new VBA instance, executing the command event associated with that button click.
   Next, insert the provided code inside the Command5_Click() function. In this example, the button is named Command5, and that’s why it’s added within this click function.
   The provided code encompasses the following steps:
   1. Ensure the table is closed:
      It’s crucial to close the table beforehand; otherwise, executing the subsequent command may result in an error.
   2. Truncate the table:
      Clear the existing data from the table. If you want to add fresh data each time
   3. Make the API call:
      Utilize the ODBC Driver connection string to initiate an API call.
   4. Insert into the Access table:
      Use the retrieved data from the API call to insert new records into the Access table.
   5. Open the table:
      Reopen the table to inspect the newly inserted data.

   ' Pass your ZappySys Driver Connection String: Refer to below link to learn how to obtain the ZappySys Driver connection string:
       ' https://community.zappysys.com/t/how-to-copy-the-zappysys-driver-connection-string/172
       Dim zsConnStr As String
       zsConnStr = "DRIVER={ZappySys JSON Driver};DataPath='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json';Filter='$.value[*]';IncludeParentColumns=0;RequestMethod='GET';RequestHeaders='cache-control: no-cache || Accept: */*'"
           
       'ZappySys Driver Query
       Dim zsDriverQuery As String
       zsDriverQuery = "Select * from $"
    
       'MS Access Table Name
       Dim tableName As String
       tableName = "tblCustomers"
   
       ' 1. Close Table If Open
       CloseTableIfOpen tableName
   
       ' 2. Truncate Table (Optional): If you want to load fresh data each time, uncomment the line below.
       'TruncateTable tableName
   
       ' 3. Import Data From API Into Table
       ImportDataFromAPIIntoTable zsConnStr, zsDriverQuery, tableName
   
       ' 4. Open Table for Viewing (Optional)
       OpenTableForViewing tableName
   
       ' Show Message after Loading Data Successfully
       MsgBox "Data Loaded Successfully!"

   

   VBA Button OnClick Function

    

6. Below the Private Sub Command5_Click() function, please add the necessary functions and procedures as provided below:

   Sub ImportDataFromAPIIntoTable(zsConnStr As String, zsDriverQuery As String, tableName As String)
       Dim dscn As New ADODB.Connection
       dscn.Open zsConnStr
   
       Dim rs As Object
       Set rs = New ADODB.Recordset
       
       ''ZappySys Driver Query Goes here
       rs.Open zsDriverQuery, dscn
   
       Dim strQuery As String
       strQuery = ""
       ' Check if the recordset is not empty
       If Not rs.EOF Then
           ' Get the field names
           Dim fieldNames As String
           fieldNames = ""
   
           For i = 1 To rs.Fields.Count
               fieldNames = fieldNames & rs.Fields(i - 1).Name
               If i < rs.Fields.Count Then
                   fieldNames = fieldNames & ","
               End If
           Next i
   
           ' Generate the INSERT script
           Dim insertScript As String
           ' Iterate through the recordset to get the values
           Do Until rs.EOF
               ' Generate Insert script
               insertScript = "INSERT INTO " & tableName & " (" & fieldNames & ") VALUES"
               insertScript = insertScript & vbCrLf & "("
               For i = 1 To rs.Fields.Count
                   ' Assuming all fields are text, you might need to handle different data types appropriately
                   
                   If IsNull(rs.Fields(i - 1).Value) Then
                       insertScript = insertScript & "''"
                   Else
                       insertScript = insertScript & "'" & EscapeSingleQuote(rs.Fields(i - 1).Value) & "'"
                   End If
                   
                   
                   If i < rs.Fields.Count Then
                       insertScript = insertScript & ","
                   End If
               Next i
               insertScript = insertScript & ")"
               
               'Insert data
               CurrentProject.Connection.Execute insertScript
               
               rs.MoveNext
           Loop
       End If
       
       ' Close the recordset and connection
       rs.Close
       dscn.Close
       Set rs = Nothing
       Set conn = Nothing
       
   End Sub
   
   Sub OpenTableForViewing(tableName As String)
       If Not IsTableOpen(tableName) Then
           DoCmd.OpenTable tableName
       End If
   End Sub
   
   Public Function IsTableOpen(strName As String) As Boolean
        IsTableOpen = SysCmd(acSysCmdGetObjectState, acTable, strName)
   End Function
   
   Sub CloseTableIfOpen(tableName As String)
       If IsTableOpen(tableName) Then
           DoCmd.SelectObject acTable, tableName
           DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdSaveRecord
           DoCmd.Close
       End If
   End Sub
   
   
   Sub TruncateTable(tableName As String)
       Dim strSql As String
       strSql = "DELETE FROM " & tableName & ";"
       CurrentProject.Connection.Execute strSql
   End Sub
   
   Public Function EscapeSingleQuote(strData As String) As String
        EscapeSingleQuote = Replace(strData, "'", "''")
   End Function

7. Now, save the VBA form code and provide some appropriate form names.
   

   Save form vba code

    

8. Make sure to add the reference to the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects X.0 Library in the project settings.In Microsoft Access VBA,
   You can add the reference to the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects X.0 Library by following these steps:
   1. In the VBA editor, go to “Tools” in the menu and select “References.”
   2. In the References dialog box, scroll down the list to find “Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects X.0 Library” (where “X.0” corresponds to the version number, such as 6.1, 2.8, etc.).
   3. Check the box next to the appropriate version to enable the reference.
   4. Click “OK” to save the changes and close the References dialog box.

   Now, your Access project has a reference to the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects library, and you can use its features in your VBA code.

   

   Access : Add reference

   If the MS ActiveX reference is not added, an error will be thrown.

   

   VBA : Error Type not defined

9. Close the code project, open the form in Form View, and click on the button.
   

   Access : Click Command Button

10. After clicking the button, it will initiate a REST API call, insert the data into the Access table, and open the table to display the inserted records along with a success message.
    

    Access : Open the table

Conclusion

In this article, we saw how to use VBA to call REST API. We show how to do REST API calls in Access using the ZappySys ODBC driver. Also, we show how to write VBA Code in MS Access for command button to make REST API call, truncate access table and insert record in the access table using VBA code. If you liked this article and you want to try, you can download the ZappySys ODBC installer here.

References

• ZappySys ODBC installer.
• Access ODBC Query
• Using ADO with Microsoft Visual Basic and Visual Basic for Applications

Form VBA Code:

After completing the migration of the higher-level VBA code, you’ll notice a transformation in the structure of your forms’ code.

Option Compare Database

Private Sub Command5_Click()
 
    ' Pass your ZappySys Driver Connection String: Refer to below link to learn how to obtain the ZappySys Driver connection string:
    ' https://community.zappysys.com/t/how-to-copy-the-zappysys-driver-connection-string/172
    Dim zsConnStr As String
    zsConnStr = "DRIVER={ZappySys JSON Driver};DataPath='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json';Filter='$.value[*]';IncludeParentColumns=0;RequestMethod='GET';RequestHeaders='cache-control: no-cache || Accept: */*'"
        
    'ZappySys Driver Query
    Dim zsDriverQuery As String
    zsDriverQuery = "Select * from $"
 
    'MS Access Table Name
    Dim tableName As String
    tableName = "tblCustomers"

    ' 1. Close Table If Open
    CloseTableIfOpen tableName

    ' 2. Truncate Table (Optional): If you want to load fresh data each time, uncomment the line below.
    'TruncateTable tableName

    ' 3. Import Data From API Into Table
    ImportDataFromAPIIntoTable zsConnStr, zsDriverQuery, tableName

    ' 4. Open Table for Viewing (Optional)
    OpenTableForViewing tableName

    ' Show Message after Loading Data Successfully
    MsgBox "Data Loaded Successfully!"
    
End Sub

Sub ImportDataFromAPIIntoTable(zsConnStr As String, zsDriverQuery As String, tableName As String)
    Dim dscn As New ADODB.Connection
    dscn.Open zsConnStr

    Dim rs As Object
    Set rs = New ADODB.Recordset
    
    ''ZappySys Driver Query Goes here
    rs.Open zsDriverQuery, dscn

    Dim strQuery As String
    strQuery = ""
    ' Check if the recordset is not empty
    If Not rs.EOF Then
        ' Get the field names
        Dim fieldNames As String
        fieldNames = ""

        For i = 1 To rs.Fields.Count
            fieldNames = fieldNames & rs.Fields(i - 1).Name
            If i < rs.Fields.Count Then
                fieldNames = fieldNames & ","
            End If
        Next i

        ' Generate the INSERT script
        Dim insertScript As String
        ' Iterate through the recordset to get the values
        Do Until rs.EOF
            ' Generate Insert script
            insertScript = "INSERT INTO " & tableName & " (" & fieldNames & ") VALUES"
            insertScript = insertScript & vbCrLf & "("
            For i = 1 To rs.Fields.Count
                ' Assuming all fields are text, you might need to handle different data types appropriately
                
                If IsNull(rs.Fields(i - 1).Value) Then
                    insertScript = insertScript & "''"
                Else
                    insertScript = insertScript & "'" & EscapeSingleQuote(rs.Fields(i - 1).Value) & "'"
                End If
                
                
                If i < rs.Fields.Count Then
                    insertScript = insertScript & ","
                End If
            Next i
            insertScript = insertScript & ")"
            
            'Insert data
            CurrentProject.Connection.Execute insertScript
            
            rs.MoveNext
        Loop
    End If
    
    ' Close the recordset and connection
    rs.Close
    dscn.Close
    Set rs = Nothing
    Set conn = Nothing
    
End Sub

Sub OpenTableForViewing(tableName As String)
    If Not IsTableOpen(tableName) Then
        DoCmd.OpenTable tableName
    End If
End Sub

Public Function IsTableOpen(strName As String) As Boolean
     IsTableOpen = SysCmd(acSysCmdGetObjectState, acTable, strName)
End Function

Sub CloseTableIfOpen(tableName As String)
    If IsTableOpen(tableName) Then
        DoCmd.SelectObject acTable, tableName
        DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdSaveRecord
        DoCmd.Close
    End If
End Sub


Sub TruncateTable(tableName As String)
    Dim strSql As String
    strSql = "DELETE FROM " & tableName & ";"
    CurrentProject.Connection.Execute strSql
End Sub

Public Function EscapeSingleQuote(strData As String) As String
     EscapeSingleQuote = Replace(strData, "'", "''")
End Function

The post How to Export REST API to MS Access using VBA Command Button appeared first on ZappySys Blog.

In this release we focused on adding URL JOIN Features which may allow many multi steps scenarios in one query. Bing Ads, Amazon MWS, Google BigQuery, Amazon Athena all these supports Job style queries which needs 3 step process (Create job, keep checking status, once done read report data). We also improved compatibility with Informatica and MS Access.

Version 1.1.3.10621 [Jun 24, 2019]

New Features/Improvements

• NEW: Add option to replace placeholders in File content if you use IsMultiPart = True
• NEW: All API Drivers – Add option EnableBodyPlaceholderForMultiPart to support replacing placeholders in file content in IsMultiPart mode (E.g. replace <%access_token%> or [$token$] or [$alias.MyJoinColumn$] )
• NEW: All API Drivers – Add option OutputAsRawDocumentSingleRow (Returns __DOCUMENT__ field with entire File / Response string in one field)
• NEW: All API Drivers – Add Options to parse from any unstructured data – RawOutputExtractMode, RawOutputDataRowTemplate, RawOutputFilterExpr
• NEW: All API Drivers – Add Status Check feature for all API drivers (Keep sending request until desired value found) – Options added EnableStatusCheck, StatucCheckMaxWaitSeconds, StatucCheckIterationWaitSeconds, StatusSuccessValue, StatusFailureValue
• NEW: All API Drivers – Add support for ConnectionType in URL Join
• NEW: All API Drivers – Add Support for HMAC Authentication
• NEW: All ODBC Drivers – Add support for Parameters
• NEW: Data Gateway – Add Code Generator UI for SQL / Java
• NEW: Data Gateway – Allow to add firewall rule via UI
• NEW: Data Gateway – Better logging about connected devices
• NEW: Salesforce Driver – Add support for Select * FROM

Bug fixes

• FIX: All API Drivers – joinXX_DataConnectionType Option not supported in JOIN URL
• FIX: All API Drivers- Show meaningful error when same option used twice in WITH clause (Right now you see odd error – An item with the same key has already been added)
• FIX: Apps – Informatica – Driver may output many extra empty rows in some cases
• FIX: Apps – MS Access – Linked table throwing call fail error (due to missing support for parameters in current driver)
• FIX: Data Gateway – Certain errors not reported correctly back to caller
• FIX: Data Gateway – Enabling caching options may hang query in some case
• FIX: Data Gateway – Generic ODBC Connection Type fails with error Connection is Busy
• FIX: Data Gateway – When you use Meta option in WITH clause you may see empty rowset rather error in some cases
• FIX: Salesforce Driver – Can not load table list in Excel / Power BI
• FIX: Salesforce Driver – Failed to preview data in Power BI
• FIX: Salesforce Driver – Load ConnectionString doesnt set Username
• FIX: Salesforce Driver – Nested queries not supported – You may get syntax error
• FIX: Salesforce Driver – SSIS ODBC destination showing bad Table names in list

The post ODBC PowerPack v1.1.3 Released appeared first on ZappySys Blog.

In this post, we will learn how to import REST API in MS Access (JSON or SOAP XML data).  We will use ODBC PowerPack to connect and query a JSON file / URL.

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation and it is an Open and Standard format to read an object with attributes and values.  JSON is replacing XML because it is faster to read data, it is easier to parse data, it does not require end tags, it is shorter and it can use arrays.

We will load the data using the ZappySys JSON / REST API driver and then import the data in Access. You can use similar techniques to load SOAP Data using XML / SOAP Driver.

Requirements

This article assumes the following requirements are met before you can follow the steps listed in this article.

1. Make sure that Microsoft Access installed
2. Also, the driver ODBC PowerPack installed

An introduction to Rest API and OData

In this example, we will use OData (Open Data Protocol) to consume REST API. REST API (Representational State Transfer Application Program Interface) allows handling the interoperability between computers and the internet.

In REST API we can handle web services in different formats. In this example, we will work with the Northwind example. The Northwind example is available in this URL:

https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc

1. By default, the data is displayed in XML format. To show the data in JSON use this URL:
   

   https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/?$format=json

2. There are collections of data like Categories, CustomerDemographic, Customers, Invoices, etc. For example, the following URL will show the data of the categories collection:
   

   https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Categories?$format=json

3. In the next steps, we will use ZappySys drivers to connect to this URL and query using OData.

Configure ODBC DSN for ZappySys JSON Driver

ODBC driver can be accessed in two modes.

1. Using DSN
2. Without DSN (Supply direct Connection String e.g. DRIVER={ZappySys JSON Driver}; …….. )

In this article, we will use the DSN approach (User DSN). We will first add the ZappySys JSON Driver in the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

Follow these steps to accomplish the task:

1. First, Windows search, write ODBC and select the ODBC Data sources (32 bits)
   

   Open ODBC Data Source

2. As a second step, in ODBC Data source Administrator press the Add button.
   

   Add ZappySys

3. In this step, create the new data source, select ZappySys ODBC Driver.
   

   Add new zappysys json driver

4. Here we have several properties, write a data source name. In this example, the name will be ZappySys JSON to Excel.
5. The Data Source (URL or file path) can specify the URL of the source or if it is a local file, you can specify the local path. In this example, the URL is:
   

   https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json

   You can also specify a local file path as Data SourceFor a single file:  c:\data\myfile_1.json
   For multiple files: c:\data\myfile_*.json
6. Configure the ODBC JSON Driver like this:
   

   Configure JSON Driver for REST API Call

How to import REST API data to Access

1. In MS Access, go to External Data Ribbon and select New Data Source and select From Other Sources and ODBC Database.
   

   A configuration in MS Access: Import Data From REST API

2. Select the Source and destination of the data, select Import the source data into a new table in the current database and press OK.
   

   Get External Data – ODBC Database

3. Select your newly created JSON Driver from the Machine Data Source and click OK.
   
   

   Get External Data – Select your newly created ODBC Data Source (JSON Driver)

    

    

4. Select tables from the list of tables in the Import Objects screen and click OK.
   
   

   Get External Data – Select tables from Import Objects Screen

5. Select Save Import Steps from the screen and click on Save Import button.
   

   Get External Data – Select Save Import Steps

6. If everything is OK, you will be able to see the data.
   

   Data Imported Successfully in MS Access DB Table

How to link REST API data to Access

The linking process is very similar to importing data into the Access table. Follow steps of the previous paragraph – How to import REST API data to Access – but on step 2 select the second option to create a linked table instead. Then once asked to select a unique record identifier, don’t select anything:

Linked table approach – Don’t select a unique record identifier

REST API / XML SOAP Pagination Settings for MS Access

SELECT * FROM $
WITH(
SRC=@'https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/pagination_nextlink_inarray_1.json'
,NextUrlAttributeOrExpr = '$.nextlink'  --keep reading until this attribute is missing. If attribute name contains dot then use brackets like this $.['my.attr.name']
)

SELECT * FROM $
WITH (
SRC=@'https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/page-xml.aspx?page=1&mode=DetectBasedOnResponseStatusCode'
,PagingMode='ByUrlParameter'
,PagingByUrlAttributeName='page'
,PagingByUrlEndStrategy='DetectBasedOnResponseStatusCode'
,PagingByUrlCheckResponseStatusCode=401
,IncrementBy=1
)

SELECT * FROM $
WITH (
SRC=@'https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/cust-<%page%>.xml'
,PagingMode='ByUrlPath'
,PagingByUrlAttributeName='<%page%>'
,PagingByUrlEndStrategy='DetectBasedOnRecordCount'
,IncrementBy=1
)

SELECT * FROM $
LIMIT 25
WITH(
	 Src='https://wordpress.org/news/wp-json/wp/v2/categories?per_page=10'
	,PagingMode='ByResponseHeaderRfc5988'
	,WaitTimeMs='200' --//wait 200 ms after each request
)

REST API / SOAP Web Service Connection Settings for MS Access

If you need to authenticate or authorize your user to access a web resource, you will need to use one of the Connections:

• HTTP
• OAuth

HTTP Connection

Use HTTP Connection for simple Windows, Basic, NTLM or Kerberos authentication. Just fill in a username and a password and you are good to go!

You can also use HTTP Connection for more sophisticated authentication like:

• SOAP WSS (when accessing a SOAP WebService)
• Static Token / API Key (when need to pass an API key in HTTP header)
• Dynamic Token (same as Static Token method except that each time you need to log in and retrieve a fresh API key)
• JWT Token (As per RFC 7519)

OAuth

If you are trying to access REST API resource, it is a huge chance, you will need to use OAuth Connection. Read this article to understand how OAuth authentication and authorization works and how to use it (article originally was written for SSIS PowerPack, but the concepts and UI stay the same): 
https://zappysys.com/blog/rest-api-authentication-with-oauth-2-0-using-ssis/

Other settings for REST API / SOAP XML Call in MS Access

REST API / XML SOAP Performance Tips for MS Access

SELECT * FROM value
WITH(
	 Src='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json&$filter=Country eq ''USA'''
	,DataFormat='Odata'
)

-- Slow query - Client-side filtering
SELECT * FROM value
WHERE Country ='USA'
WITH(
	 Src='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Customers?$format=json'
	,DataFormat='Odata'
)

SELECT * FROM $
WITH 
(  SRC='https://myhost.com/some-api'
  ,CachingMode='All'  --cache metadata and data rows both
  ,CacheStorage='File' --or Memory
  ,CacheFileLocation='c:\temp\myquery.cache'
  ,CacheEntryTtl=300 --cache for 300 seconds
)

SELECT * FROM $ 
LIMIT 10 --//add this just to test how fast you can get 10 rows
WITH(
  Filter='$.LargeArray[*]--FAST' --//Adding --FAST option turn on STREAM mode (large files)
 ,SRC='https://zappysys.com/downloads/files/test/large_file_100k_largearray_prop.json.gz'
 --,SRC='c:\data\large_file.json.gz'
 ,IncludeParentColumns='False'  --//This Must be OFF for STREAM mode (read very large files)
 ,FileCompressionType='GZip' --Zip or None (Zip format only available for Local files)
)

Calling SOAP Web Service in MS Access

To call SOAP API you need to know Request XML Body Structure. If you are not sure how to create SOAP Request body then no worries. Check this article to learn how to generate SOAP Request body using the Free tool SoapUI. Basically, you have to use SoapUI to generate Request XML and after that, you can replace parameters as needed in the generated body.

What is SOAP Web Service?

If you are new to SOAP Web Service sometimes referred as XML Web Service then please read some concept about SOAP Web service standard from this link There are two important aspects in SOAP Web service.

1. Getting WSDL file or URL
2. Knowing exact Web Service URL

What is WSDL

In very simple term WSDL (often pronounced as whiz-dull) is nothing but a document which describes Service metadata (e.g. Functions you can call, Request parameters, response structure etc). Some service simply give you WSDL as xml file you can download on local machine and then analyze or sometimes you may get direct URL (e.g. http://api.mycompany.com/hr-soap-service/?wsdl )

Example SQL Query for SOAP API call using ZappySys XML Driver

Here is an example SQL query you can write to call SOAP API. If you not sure about many details then check next few sections on how to use XML Driver User Interface to build desired SQL query to POST data to XML SOAP Web Service without any coding.

SELECT * FROM $
WITH(
	 Src='http://www.holidaywebservice.com/HolidayService_v2/HolidayService2.asmx'
	,DataConnectionType='HTTP'
	,CredentialType='Basic' --OR SoapWss
	,SoapWssPasswordType='PasswordText'
	,UserName='myuser'
	,Password='pass$$w123'
	,Filter='$.soap:Envelope.soap:Body.GetHolidaysAvailableResponse.GetHolidaysAvailableResult.HolidayCode[*]'
	,ElementsToTreatAsArray='HolidayCode'	
	,RequestMethod='POST'	
	,Header='Content-Type: text/xml;charset=UTF-8 || SOAPAction: "http://www.holidaywebservice.com/HolidayService_v2/GetHolidaysAvailable"'
	,RequestData='
<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:hol="http://www.holidaywebservice.com/HolidayService_v2/">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <hol:GetHolidaysAvailable>
         <!--type: Country - enumeration: [Canada,GreatBritain,IrelandNorthern,IrelandRepublicOf,Scotland,UnitedStates]-->
         <hol:countryCode>UnitedStates</hol:countryCode>
      </hol:GetHolidaysAvailable>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>'
)

Now let's look at steps to create SQL query to call SOAP API. Later we will see how to generate code for your desired programming language (e.g. C# or SQL Server)

Video Tutorial - Introduction to SOAP Web Service and SoapUI tool

Before we dive into details about calling SOAP API using ZappySys XML Driver, lets first understand what is SOAP API and how to create SOAP requests using SoapUI tool. You will learn more about this process in the later section. The video contains some fragment about using SOAP API in SSIS but just ignore that part because we will be calling Soap API using ZappySys ODBC Driver rather than SSIS Components.  

Using SoapUI to test SOAP API call / Create Request Body XML

Assuming you have downloaded and installed SoapUI from here, now we are ready to use WSDL for your SOAP Web Service Calls. If you do not have WSDL file or URL handy then contact your API provider (sometimes you just have to add ?wsdl at the end of your Service URL to get WSDL so try that. Example: http://mycompany/myservice?wsdl ). If you don't know what is WSDL then in short, WSDL is Web service Description Language (i.e. XML file which describes your SOAP Service). WSDL helps to craft SOAP API request Body for ZappySys XML Driver. So Let's get started.

1. Open SoapUI and click SOAP button to create new SOAP Project
2. Enter WSDL URL or File Path of WSDLFor example WSDL for our sample service can be accessed via this URL

   http://www.dneonline.com/calculator.asmx?wsdl

   
   Create new SOAP API Project in SoapUI tool for SOAP API Testing
3. Once WSDL is loaded you will see possible operations you can call for your SOAP Web Service.
4. If your web service requires credentials then you have to configure it. There are two common credential types for public services (SOAP WSS or BASIC )
   1. To use SOAP WSS Credentials select request node and enter UserId, Password, and WSS-PasswordType (PasswordText or PasswordHash)
      
      Configure SOAP WSS Credentials for SoapUI (SOAP API Testing Tool)
   2. To use BASIC Auth Credentials select request node and double-click it. At the bottom click on Auth (Basic) and From Authorization dropdown click Add New and Select Basic.
      Configure Basic Authorization for SoapUI (SOAP API Testing Tool)
5. Now you can test your request first Double-click on the request node to open request editor.
6. Change necessary parameters, remove optional or unwanted parameters. If you want to regenerate request you can click on Recreate default request toolbar icon.
   Create SOAP Request XML (With Optional Parameters)
7. Once your SOAP Request XML is ready, Click the Play button in the toolbar to execute SOAP API Request and Response will appear in Right side panel. Test SOAP API using SoapUI Tool (Change Default XML Body / Parameters, Execute and See Response)

Create DSN using ZappySys XML Driver to call SOAP API

Once you have tested your SOAP API in SoapUI tool, we are ready to use ZappySys XML driver to call SOAP API in your preferred BI tool or Programming language.

1. First open ODBC Data Sources (search ODBC in your start menu or go under ZappySys > ODBC PowerPack > ODBC 64 bit)
2. Goto System DSN Tab (or User DSN which is not used by Service account)
3. Click Add and Select ZappySys XML Driver ZappySys ODBC Driver for XML / SOAP API
4. Configure API URL, Request Method and Request Body as below ZappySys XML Driver - Calling SOAP API - Configure URL, Method, Body
5. (This step is Optional) If your SOAP API requires credentials then Select Connection Type to HTTP and configure as below.
   ZappySys XML Driver - Configure SOAP WSS Credentials or Basic Authorization (Userid, Password)
6. Configure-Request Headers as below (You can get it from Request > Raw tab from SoapUI after you test the request by clicking the Play button) Configure SOAP API Request Headers - ZappySys XML Driver
7. Once credentials entered you can select Filter to extract data from the desired node. Make sure to select array node (see special icon) or select the node which contains all necessary columns if you don't have array node. Select Filter - Extract data from nested XML / SOAP API Response (Denormalize Hierarchy)
8. If prompted select yes to treat selected node as Array (This is helpful when you expect one or more record for selected node) Treat selected node as XML Array Option for SOAP API Response XML

Preview SOAP API Response / Generate SQL Code for SOAP API Call

Once you configure settings for XML Driver now you can preview data or generate example code for desired language (e.g. C#, Python, Java, SQL Server). Go to Preview tab and you will see default query generated based on settings you entered in previous sections. Attributes listed in WITH clause are optional. If you omit attribute in WITH clause it will use it from Properties tab.

Preview Data

Preview SOAP API Response in ZappySys XML Driver

Generate Code Option

Generate Example Code for ZappySys Driver

Conclusion

In this article, we learned how to use the ZappySys ODBC PowerPack to import JSON to Access. We used the OData protocol for Import data to Access.  With ZappySys ODBC Power Pack, you can query REST API information or JSON files using SQL and filter the information or write custom queries according to your needs.

References

• JSON – Introduction
• Learn REST: A RESTful Tutorial

The post Import REST API in MS Access (Load JSON / SOAP XML) appeared first on ZappySys Blog.