Create Facebook-Connected Enterprise Applications in OutSystems

OutSystems is a low-code platform which provides the tools for companies to developer, deploy, and manage omnichannel enterprise applications. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to Facebook data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Facebook in Connect Cloud and build a simple app from Facebook data in OutSystems.

The CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Facebook, allowing you to build reports from live Facebook data in OutSystems — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you create applications to work with data, OutSystems generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Facebook, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Facebook data.

Configure Facebook Connectivity for OutSystems

Connectivity to Facebook from OutSystems is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Facebook data from OutSystems, we start by creating and configuring a Facebook connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Facebook" from the Add Connection panel

3. Facebook uses OAuth to authenticate. Click "Sign in" to authenticate with Facebook.
4. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Facebook Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Facebook data from OutSystems.

Connect to Facebook from OutSystems

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from OutSystems to create a new Facebook database connection.

1. Open OutSystems Service Studio
2. Click the gear icon to open Environment Management in the Service Center
3. Click Administration and select "Database Connections"
4. Click "New Database Connection"
5. Configure the database connection:
   • Name: name the connection (e.g. CData Connect Cloud Facebook)
   • DBMS: SQL Server / Azure SQL
   • Username: a Connect Cloud user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Password: the PAT for the Connect Cloud user
   • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Schema: the name of your Facebook connection (e.g. Facebook1)
   
6. Click "Test Connection"
7. Click "Create"

Map Facebook Tables or Views to Entities in an Extension Module

Once you create the database connection for Facebook, you can create an extension that maps the tables or views to OutSystems entities. If you have not already done so, create an Application in Service Studio.

1. Open the Service Studio and open the existing Application
2. Click "Add Module," set the "Module Name" (e.g. facebook_db_extension), set "Module Type" to "Extension," and click "Create Module"
3. In Integration Studio, connect to your environment
4. Right-click "Entities" in the extension tree and select "Connect to External Table or View..."
5. Follow the steps in the wizard, selecting the tables and views you wish to work with
6. In the Integration Studio, click "1-Click Publish"
7. In the "1-Click Publish" wizard, click "Configure" when the process completes
   • In the Service Center, associate the logical database name of the extension to the database connection that the extension will use and click "Apply"
8. In your application, click "Manage Dependencies..."
9. Add a dependency to the Extension and select the Entities that you will use in your application

At this point, you can access and work with Facebook data just like you would with the standard OutSystems entities.

Get CData Connect Cloud

With Connect Cloud and OutSystems, you can easily build Facebook-connected applications. Request a free trial of Connect Cloud and start working with Facebook data in OutSystems today.