Feed Databricks Data into FineReport

The CData JDBC Driver for Databricks fully implements the JDBC standard and can provide Databricks data connectivity to a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and custom applications. In this article, we explain how to set Databricks data as JDBC data source in FineReport and view Databricks data as a table in the Report Designer.

Set Up a JDBC Data Source of Databricks Data

Follow the instruction below to set Databricks data as a FineReport database connection.

1. Copy the cdata.jdbc.databricks.jar file from the lib folder in the CData JDBC Driver for Databricks installation directory to the lib folder of the FineReport installation directory. You will need to copy the cdata.jdbc.databricks.lic file as well.
2. From the Server tab, select Define Data Connection, click to add a new connection, and click JDBC.

Next we will set up the data connection definition in the window.

1. Database: Others
2. JDBC Driver: cdata.jdbc.databricks.DatabricksDriver
3. URL: A standard JDBC connection string using semicolon-separated connection properties.

   To connect to a Databricks cluster, set the properties as described below.

   Note: The needed values can be found in your Databricks instance by navigating to Clusters, and selecting the desired cluster, and selecting the JDBC/ODBC tab under Advanced Options.

   • Server: Set to the Server Hostname of your Databricks cluster.
   • HTTPPath: Set to the HTTP Path of your Databricks cluster.
   • Token: Set to your personal access token (this value can be obtained by navigating to the User Settings page of your Databricks instance and selecting the Access Tokens tab).

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Databricks JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.databricks.jar

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   A typical JDBC URL is below:

   jdbc:databricks:Server=127.0.0.1;Port=443;TransportMode=HTTP;HTTPPath=MyHTTPPath;UseSSL=True;User=MyUser;Password=MyPassword;
4. Click Connection pool attributes and set Test before getting connections to No.

Click Test connection to ensure you have configured the connection properly. With the connection to Databricks set up, you can use it as FineReport data source.

Select Databricks Data in the Report Designer.

1. Click to add a new template data set and select DB query to open the database query window.
2. Choose the JDBC connection that you created from the dropdown list.
3. The Databricks entities will appear as tables on the left pane.
4. Write a SELECT statement for the Databricks data tables and columns that you want to load.
5. Click preview and data is shown as table.

With these simple steps, Databricks can be used as a JDBC data source in FineReport.