Connect to and Query Twitter Data in QlikView over ODBC

The CData ODBC drivers expand your ability to work with data from more than 200 data sources. QlikView is a business discovery platform that provides self-service BI for all business users in an organization. This article outlines simple steps to connect to Twitter data using the CData ODBC driver and create data visualizations in QlikView.

The CData ODBC drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live Twitter data in QlikView due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from QlikView to Twitter, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Twitter and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Twitter data using native QlikView data types.

Connect to Twitter as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

All tables require authentication. You can connect using your User and Password or OAuth. To authenticate using OAuth, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL or you can register an app to obtain your own.

If you intend to communicate with Twitter only as the currently authenticated user, then you can obtain the OAuthAccessToken and OAuthAccessTokenSecret directly by registering an app.

See the Getting Started chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

When you configure the DSN, 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.

Populate a Chart with Twitter Data

The steps below supply the results of an SQL query to a visualization in QlikView. In this article, you will create a bar chart with the query below:

1. Click File -> Edit Script (or click the Edit Script button in the Toolbar).
2. On the Data tab, select ODBC in the Database menu and click Connect.
3. Select the DSN (CData Twitter Sys) in the resulting dialog. A command like the following is generated: ODBC CONNECT TO [CData Twitter Sys];
4. Enter the SQL query directly into the script with the SQL command (or click Select to build the query in the SELECT statement wizard). SQL SELECT From_User_Name, Retweet_Count FROM Tweets;

   Where possible, the SQL operations in the query, like filters and aggregations, will be pushed down to Twitter, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver.

5. Close the script editor and reload the document to execute the script.
6. Click Tools -> Quick Chart Wizard. In the wizard, select the chart type. This example uses a bar chart. When building the chart, you have access to the fields from Twitter, typed appropriately for QlikView, thanks to built-in dynamic metadata querying.
7. When defining Dimensions, select From_User_Name in the First Dimension menu.
8. When defining Expressions, click the summary function you want and select Retweet_Count in the menu.

9. Finish the wizard to generate the chart. The CData ODBC Driver for Twitter connects to live Twitter data, so the chart can be refreshed to see real-time changes. Live connections are possible and effective, thanks to the high-performance data processing native to CData ODBC Drivers.