Build AlloyDB-Connected Apps in Bubble

Bubble is a no-code platform that simplifies the process of developing and launching apps and businesses. When coupled with CData Connect Cloud, you gain effortless no-code access to AlloyDB data for streamlined app development. This article guides you through the integration process from Bubble to AlloyDB using CData Connect Cloud.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud OData interface for AlloyDB data that allows you to integrate from Bubble to AlloyDB data in real time.

Connect to AlloyDB from Bubble

To work with AlloyDB data from Bubble, we need to connect to AlloyDB from Connect Cloud, provide user access to the connection, and create OData endpoints for the AlloyDB data.

(Optional) Add a New Connect Cloud User

As needed, create Users to connect to AlloyDB through Connect Cloud.

1. Navigate to the Users page and click Invite Users
2. Enter the new user's email address and click Send to invite the user
3. You can review and edit users from the Users page

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Connect to AlloyDB from Connect Cloud

CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "AlloyDB" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to AlloyDB.

   The following connection properties are usually required in order to connect to AlloyDB.

   • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the AlloyDB database.
   • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.
   • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.

   You can also optionally set the following:

   • Database: The database to connect to when connecting to the AlloyDB Server. If this is not set, the user's default database will be used.
   • Port: The port of the server hosting the AlloyDB database. This property is set to 5432 by default.

   Authenticating with Standard Authentication

   Standard authentication (using the user/password combination supplied earlier) is the default form of authentication.

   No further action is required to leverage Standard Authentication to connect.

   Authenticating with pg_hba.conf Auth Schemes

   There are additional methods of authentication available which must be enabled in the pg_hba.conf file on the AlloyDB server.

   Find instructions about authentication setup on the AlloyDB Server here.

   Authenticating with MD5 Authentication

   This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to md5.

   Authenticating with SASL Authentication

   This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to scram-sha-256.

   Authenticating with Kerberos

   The authentication with Kerberos is initiated by AlloyDB Server when the ∏ is trying to connect to it. You should set up Kerberos on the AlloyDB Server to activate this authentication method. Once you have Kerberos authentication set up on the AlloyDB Server, see the Kerberos section of the help documentation for details on how to authenticate with Kerberos.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add AlloyDB Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add AlloyDB OData Endpoints in Connect Cloud

After connecting to AlloyDB, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the OData page and click Add to create new OData endpoints
2. Select the AlloyDB connection (e.g. AlloyDB1) and click Next
3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm

With the connection and OData endpoints configured, you are ready to connect to AlloyDB data from Bubble.

Build a AlloyDB-Connected App

With OData endpoints added to Connect Cloud, you can build an app in Bubble with live access to AlloyDB data.

Configure the Bubble API Connector

To start, Configure the API Connector for accessing CData Connect Cloud from Bubble.

1. In your app, click the Plugins tab and click Add plugins
2. Search for "API Connector" and click Install
3. After installation, click the "Add another API" button and configure the API:
   • Name the API
   • Set Authentication to "HTTP Basic Auth"
   • Set Username to a Connect Cloud user (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
   • Set Password to the PAT for the above user
   • Expand the API Call, select the "GET" command and set the URL to an OData endpoint you previously configured (e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/service/Orders)
4. Click the "Initialize call" button to adjust data types in the response (as needed)
5. After making any necessary changes, click "Save"

Configure the App UI

With the API Connector configure, you are ready to retrieve AlloyDB data in your Bubble app. In this article, we request the data with a UI component that can display an Excel-like table.

1. On the Plugin tab, install the "Excel-like HandsonTable"
2. On the Design tab, add an "Excel Table" to the workspace
3. In the Excel Table, in Data source, select "Get data from an external API"
4. Set Type of content to "API Call value"
5. Set Data source to "CData Connect Cloud - API Call's value" (or equivalent)
6. Click "Preview" to ensure the data was retrieved from AlloyDB.

At this point, you can develop applications with live access to AlloyDB data without needing to know the complexities of the back-end API.

Live Access to AlloyDB Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live AlloyDB data from Bubble. You can create more AlloyDB-connected apps — all without writing any code or replicating AlloyDB data.

To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, see the CData Connect Cloud.