Integrate Real-Time Access to QuickBooks POS in SAPUI5 MVC Apps

In this article we show how to use the CData Connect Server and with the ADO.NET Provider for QuickBooks POS (or any of 200+ other ADO.NET Providers) to write SAPUI5 apps that leverage the capabilities of the QuickBooks POS API, without writing to a back-end database. The Connect Server is a lightweight Web application that runs on your server and produces OData feeds of QuickBooks POS data. OData is the standard for real-time data access over the Web and has built-in support in SAPUI5 and OpenUI5.

Configuring Connect Server

To work with live QuickBooks POS data in our SAPUI5 app, we need to connect to QuickBooks POS from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the QuickBooks POS data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to QuickBooks POS from SAPUI5 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 QuickBooks POS 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 "QuickBooks POS" from Available Data Sources
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to QuickBooks POS.

   When you are connecting to a local QuickBooks instance, you do not need to set any connection properties.

   Requests are made to QuickBooks POS through the Remote Connector. The Remote Connector runs on the same machine as QuickBooks POS and accepts connections through a lightweight, embedded Web server. The server supports SSL/TLS, enabling users to connect securely from remote machines.

   The first time you connect, you will need to authorize the Remote Connector with QuickBooks POS. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide.

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 QuickBooks POS OData Endpoints in Connect Server

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

1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
2. Select the QuickBooks POS 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.

Create the View

In this article the user views and interacts with QuickBooks POS data through an SAPUI5 table control. Table columns will be automatically detected from the metadata retrieved from the Connect Server's API endpoint. We define the following table in a separate View.view.xml file:

<mvc:View
  controllerName="sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Controller"
  xmlns="sap.ui.table"
  xmlns:mvc="sap.ui.core.mvc"
  xmlns:u="sap.ui.unified"
  xmlns:c="sap.ui.core"
  xmlns:m="sap.m">
  <m:Page
    showHeader="false"
    enableScrolling="true"
    class="sapUiContentPadding">
    <m:content>
      <Table
        id="table"
        selectionMode="MultiToggle"
        visibleRowCount="10"
        enableSelectAll="false"
        rows="{/Customers}"
        threshold="15"
        enableBusyIndicator="true"
        columns="{
          path: 'meta>/dataServices/schema/[${namespace}===\'CData\']/entityType/[${name}===\'Customers\']/property',
          factory: '.columnFactory'
        }">
        <toolbar>
          <m:Toolbar>
            <m:Title text="QuickBooks POS Customers"></m:Title>
          </m:Toolbar>
        </toolbar>
        <noData>
          <m:BusyIndicator class="sapUiMediumMargin"/>
        </noData>
      </Table>
    </m:content>
  </m:Page>
</mvc:View>

Create the Model and Controller

In SAPUI5, you do not need to write any OData queries; an ODataModel instance handles the application's data access commands. The Connect Server then translates the queries into QuickBooks POS API calls.

The controller processes user input and represents information to the user through a view. Define the controller in a new file, Controller.controller.js. Instantiate the model in the onInit function -- you will need to replace the placeholder values for the serviceUrl to the Connect Server as well as the Authorization header.

For the Authorization header, you will keep the "Basic" as shown and then use a Base64 encoder (such as this one) to generate a token to fill in the second part. You will use the login information for Connect Server in the following format to generate your encoded token -> User:Authtoken

sap.ui.define([
  "sap/ui/core/mvc/Controller",
  "sap/ui/model/odata/v2/ODataModel",
  "sap/ui/model/json/JSONModel",
  "sap/ui/table/Column",
  "sap/m/Text",
], function(Controller, ODataModel, JSONModel, Column, Text ) {
  "use strict";
  

  return Controller.extend("sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Controller", {
    
    onInit : function () {
      
      var oView = this.getView();
      var oDataModel = new ODataModel({
        serviceUrl: "http://localhost:8080/odata.rsc/",  
        headers: {
            "Authorization":"Basic your-token-here>"
        }
    });
      
      oDataModel.setUseBatch(false);
      oDataModel.getMetaModel().loaded().then(function(){
        oView.setModel(oDataModel.getMetaModel(), "meta");
      });
      oView.setModel(oDataModel);
      
      var oTable = oView.byId("table");
      var oBinding = oTable.getBinding("rows");
      var oBusyIndicator = oTable.getNoData();
      oBinding.attachDataRequested(function(){
      oTable.setNoData(oBusyIndicator);
      });
      oBinding.attachDataReceived(function(){
        oTable.setNoData(null); //use default again ("no data" in case no data is available)
      });
    },
    
    onExit : function () {
    },
    
    columnFactory : function(sId, oContext) {
      var oModel = this.getView().getModel();
      var sName = oContext.getProperty("name");
      var sType = oContext.getProperty("type");
      var iLen = oContext.getProperty("maxLength");
      iLen = iLen ? parseInt(iLen, 10) : 10;
      
      return new Column(sId, {
        sortProperty: sName, 
        filterProperty: sName,
        width: (iLen > 9 ? (iLen > 50 ? 15 : 10) : 5) + "rem",
        label: new sap.m.Label({text: "{/#Customers/" + sName + "/@name}"}),
        hAlign: sType && sType.indexOf("Decimal") >= 0 ? "End" : "Begin",
        template: new Text({text: {path: sName}})
      });
    }
    
  });

});

Describe Application Logic

Create a component that contains the resources of your application. Define the following in Component.js:

sap.ui.define([
  'sap/ui/core/UIComponent'
], function(UIComponent) {
  "use strict";

  return UIComponent.extend("sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.Component", {
    metadata : {
      rootView : "sap.ui.table.sample.OData2.View",
      dependencies : {
        libs : [
          "sap.ui.table",
          "sap.ui.unified",
          "sap.m"
        ]
      },

      config : {
        sample : {
          stretch : true,
          files : [
            "View.view.xml",
            "Controller.controller.js"
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  });

});

Bootstrap OpenUI5 and Launch

To complete the MVC application, simply add the bootstrap and initialization code. Add these directly to index.html:

<!DOCTYPE HTML>

<html>
<head>
  <meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge">
  <meta charset="utf-8"> 
  <title>QuickBooks POS Customers</title>
  
  <script id="sap-ui-bootstrap"
    src="https://openui5.hana.ondemand.com/resources/sap-ui-core.js"
    data-sap-ui-libs="sap.m"
    data-sap-ui-theme="sap_bluecrystal"
    data-sap-ui-xx-bindingSyntax="complex"
    data-sap-ui-preload="async"
    data-sap-ui-compatVersion="edge" 
    data-sap-ui-resourceroots='{"sap.ui.table.sample.OData2": "./", "sap.ui.demo.mock": "mockdata"}'>
  </script>
  
  <!-- application launch configuration -->
  <script>
  
      sap.ui.getCore().attachInit(function() {
        new sap.m.App ({
          pages: [
                new sap.m.Page({
                    title: "QuickBooks POS Customers", 
                    enableScrolling : false,
                  content: [ new sap.ui.core.ComponentContainer({
                  height : "100%", name : "sap.ui.table.sample.OData2"
                })]
            })
          ]
      }).placeAt("content");
    });

  </script>
</head> 
  <!-- UI Content -->
<body class="sapUiBody" id="content" role="application">
</body> 
</html>

Setting Up A Web Server

To test the project, we can set up a web server. SAPUI5 has its own mock server, and the documentation for setting it up can be found here: https://sapui5.hana.ondemand.com/sdk/#/topic/50897decc9504b2a875fb41d89fd254a

Alternatively, we can use a NodeJS server, like so:

    var fs = require('fs'), http = require('http');

    http.createServer(function (req, res) {
      fs.readFile(__dirname + req.url, function (err,data) {
        if (err) {
          res.writeHead(404);
          res.end(JSON.stringify(err));
          return;
        }
        res.writeHead(200);
        res.end(data);
      });
    }).listen(3000); //we're using port 3000, but you may use a different one
    

The resulting SAPUI5 table control reflects any changes to a table in the remote QuickBooks POS data. You can now browse and search current QuickBooks POS data.

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your QuickBooks POS data (or data from any of our other supported data sources), 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.