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CData Connect Server

DataBind Wijmo Grid to FTP Data



Provide real-time FTP data to interactive controls.

The Connect Server enables you to use Web services to connect to and query FTP data. This article details how to import an OData feed of FTP data into Wijmo Grid.

Configuring Connect Server

To work with live FTP data in Wijmo Grid, we need to connect to FTP from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the FTP data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to FTP from Wijmo Grid through Connect Server.

  1. Click Users -> Add
  2. Configure a User
  3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user

Connect to FTP from Connect Server

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

  1. Open Connect Server and click Connections
  2. Select "FTP" from Available Data Sources
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to FTP.

    To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

    Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

    Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

    The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

    • RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
    • TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
    • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

    Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

  4. Click Save Changes
  5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).

Add FTP OData Endpoints in Connect Server

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

  1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
  2. Select the FTP database
  3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
  4. (Optional) Edit the resource to select specific fields and more
  5. Save the settings

(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)

When accessing and connecting to multiple domains from an application such as Ajax, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.

  • Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
  • Allow all domains without '*': ON
  • Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
  • Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization

Save the changes to the settings.

Connect to FTP Data using Wijmo Grid

Create a Real-Time Grid

Follow the steps below to consume FTP data from the Wijmo JavaScript controls:

  1. Load the required Wijmo, jQuery, and Knockout libraries:
    			
    			<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.11.1.min.js"></script>
    			<script src="http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.11.0/jquery-ui.min.js"></script>
    
    			<!--Theme-->
    			<link href="http://cdn.wijmo.com/themes/aristo/jquery-wijmo.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    				<!--Wijmo Widgets CSS-->
    				<link href="http://cdn.wijmo.com/jquery.wijmo-pro.all.3.20161.90.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
    
    					<!--Wijmo Widgets JavaScript-->
    					<script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/jquery.wijmo-open.all.3.20161.90.min.js"></script>
    					<script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/jquery.wijmo-pro.all.3.20161.90.min.js"></script>
    					<script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/interop/wijmo.data.ajax.3.20161.90.js"></script>
    
    					<!--Knockout JS Library-->
    					<!-- Both of the links below can work -->
    					<script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/wijmo/external/knockout-2.2.0.js"></script>
    					<!--<script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/amd-js/3.20161.90/knockout-3.1.0.js"></script>-->
    
    					<!--Wijmo Knockout Integration Library-->
    					<script src="http://cdn.wijmo.com/interop/knockout.wijmo.3.20161.90.js"></script>
    		
  2. Create a ViewModel and connect to it using the ODataView. You will need to replace the placeholder values for the URL of the API Server, an API Server user, and the authtoken for that user.
    			
    			<script id="scriptInit">
    			$.support.cors = true;
    			var viewModel;
    
    			function ViewModel() {
    			var mydirectoryView = new wijmo.data.ODataView("http://MyServer:MyPort/api.rsc/MyDirectory", {
    			ajax: {
    			dataType: "jsonp",
    			username: "MyUser",
    			password: "MyAuthtoken",
    			data: { "$inlinecount": null }
    			},
    			pageSize: 10
    			});
    			mydirectoryView.refresh();
    			mydirectoryView.nextPage();
    			this.mydirectory = mydirectoryView;
    			this.prevPage = function () {mydirectoryView.prevPage();};
    			this.nextPage = function () {mydirectoryView.nextPage();};
    			}
    
    			$(document).ready(function () {
    			viewModel = new ViewModel();
    			ko.applyBindings(viewModel, $(".container").get(0));
    			});
    			</script>
    		
  3. DataBind: Below is a simple table with some paging buttons, which you can paste into the body section of your markup.
    			
    			<h2>Connect to Live FTP Data in Real Time</h2>
    
    			<h3>MyDirectory</h3>
    			<div>
    				<button title="previous page" class="pagebuttons" data-bind="click: prevPage, button: {}">
    					<span class="ui-icon ui-icon-seek-prev" />
    				</button>
    				<button title="next page" class="pagebuttons" data-bind="click: nextPage, button: {}">
    					<span class="ui-icon ui-icon-seek-next" />
    				</button>
    			</div>
    			<table id="demo-grid" data-bind="wijgrid: { 
          data: mydirectory, 
          showFilter: true, 
          allowPaging: true,
          pagerSettings: { position: 'none'},
          columnsAutogenerationMode: 'append',
        }" >
    			</table>
    		

At this point, you may be prompted to re-enter the username and authtoken. After doing so, a resulting table or grid should appear, as seen below. You can filter and sort through pages of FTP data.

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your FTP data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Wijmo Grid, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Server today! For more information on Connect Server and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect page.