Query Dynamics CRM Data through ODBC in Node.js

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code outside of a browser. With the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics CRM, you can access live Dynamics CRM data from Node.js apps and scripts. In this article, we walk through installing node-odbc and the required tools to create a simple Node.js app with access to live Dynamics CRM data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Dynamics CRM data in Node.js. When you issue complex SQL queries from Node.js to Dynamics CRM, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Dynamics CRM and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to Dynamics CRM Data

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure the DSN. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.

Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.

Building node-odbc

In order to connect to Dynamics CRM through the CData ODBC Driver, you need to build node-odbc manually (after installing the required tools).

Installing the Required Tools

The following commands install the tools required to build node-odbc (note the -g parameter, which installs the tools globally).

npm i -g windows-build-tools
npm i -g node-gyp

Building node-odbc

After installing the required tools, create a directory for the Node.js app and install odbc (which builds the binary for us to use in our Node.js script).

mkdir nodeodbc
cd nodeodbc
npm i -g node

Querying Dynamics CRM from Node.js

With the ODBC Driver installed, a DSN Configured, and node-odbc built, we are ready to query live Dynamics CRM data from a Node.js app. The sample code below connects to a specific DSN and queries the Account table.

myscript.js

const odbc = require('odbc');

async function queryDynamicsCRM() {
    const connection = await odbc.connect(`DSN=CData DynamicsCRM Source`);
    const data = await connection.query('SELECT FirstName, NumberOfEmployees FROM Account');
    console.log(data);
}

queryDynamicsCRM();

Once you write the app, use node to execute the script:

node myscript.js

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics CRM and start working with your live Dynamics CRM data in Node.js. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.