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In this article, we will demonstrate the process of generating an OData feed for MongoDB data by developing a WCF Service Application.
The CData ADO.NET Provider for MongoDB enables you to rapidly develop service-oriented applications using the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) framework, providing MongoDB data data to OData consumers. This article guides you through creating an entity data model for connectivity and a WCF Data Service to expose OData services. You can then consume the feed with various OData clients, such as Power Pivot or applications using the CData ADO.NET Provider for OData.
About MongoDB Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from MongoDB has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Access data from MongoDB 2.6 and above, ensuring broad usability across various MongoDB versions.
- Easily manage unstructured data thanks to flexible NoSQL (learn more here: Leading-Edge Drivers for NoSQL Integration).
- Leverage feature advantages over other NoSQL drivers and realize functional benefits when working with MongoDB data (learn more here: A Feature Comparison of Drivers for NoSQL).
MongoDB's flexibility means that it can be used as a transactional, operational, or analytical database. That means CData customers use our solutions to integrate their business data with MongoDB or integrate their MongoDB data with their data warehouse (or both). Customers also leverage our live connectivity options to analyze and report on MongoDB directly from their preferred tools, like Power BI and Tableau.
For more details on MongoDB use case and how CData enhances your MongoDB experience, check out our blog post: The Top 10 Real-World MongoDB Use Cases You Should Know in 2024.
Getting Started
Create the OData Service
Follow the steps below to create a WCF service application that will provide connectivity to MongoDB data via OData.
- Open Visual Studio and create a new project. Select the WCF Service Application template.
- Delete the autogenerated IService.cs and Service1.svc.
- Install Entity Framework 6:
Use the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio to install the latest version of Entity Framework. Run the following command to download and install Entity Framework automatically:
Install-Package EntityFramework
- Register the Entity Framework provider:
- Add the following provider entry in the "providers" section of your App.config or Web.config file. This section should already exist if the Entity Framework installation was successful.
<configuration> ... <entityFramework> <providers> ... <provider invariantName="System.Data.CData.MongoDB" type="System.Data.CData.MongoDB.MongoDBProviderServices, System.Data.CData.MongoDB.Entities.EF6" /> </providers> </entityFramework> </configuration>
- Add a reference to System.Data.CData.MongoDB.Entities.dll, located in lib/4.0 in the installation directory.
- Build the project to complete the setup for using EF6.
- Add the following provider entry in the "providers" section of your App.config or Web.config file. This section should already exist if the Entity Framework installation was successful.
- Click Project -> Add New Item -> ADO.NET Entity Data Model.
- In the Entity Data Model wizard that is displayed, select the 'EF Designer from Database' option.
- In the resulting Choose Your Connection dialog, click New Connection.
In the Connection properties dialog, select the CData MongoDB Data Source and enter the necessary credentials.
A typical connection string is below:
Server=MyServer;Port=27017;Database=test;User=test;Password=Password;
Set the Server, Database, User, and Password connection properties to connect to MongoDB. To access MongoDB collections as tables you can use automatic schema discovery or write your own schema definitions. Schemas are defined in .rsd files, which have a simple format. You can also execute free-form queries that are not tied to the schema.
- Select MongoDB tables and views that you want OData clients to access.
- Click Project -> Add New Item -> WCF Data Service.
Specify the data source class and configure access to the new WCF Data Service. In the example below, the Access Rule for the entities is set to All. This means that any user will be able to read and modify data.
using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Data.Services; using System.Data.Services.Common; using System.Linq; using System.ServiceModel.Web; using System.Web; namespace MongoDBService{ public class MongoDBDataService : DataService<MongoDBEntities> { public static void InitializeService(DataServiceConfiguration config) { config.SetEntitySetAccessRule("*", EntitySetRights.All); config.DataServiceBehavior.MaxProtocolVersion = DataServiceProtocolVersion.V3; } } }
- Run the project. Applications that support OData can now access the Salesforce data and reflect any changes. You can access the feed in your browser. The feed will resemble the following:
Consume the OData Service from Power Pivot
You can now use the service from any OData client; for example, Excel Power Pivot.
- Open Excel and click on the Power Pivot Window button.
- A new pop-up will appear. Select the option From Data Feeds.
- In the resulting Table Import Wizard, enter the OData URL. For example, http://localhost:12449/MongoDBDataService.svc/.
- After connecting to the OData service, click the Next button at the bottom of the window.
- A table listing of the available tables will appear in the next window of the wizard. Select which tables you want to import and click Finish.
- Click Close to import the data in Power Pivot.