Connecting Yellowfin to ODBC Data Sources
3 min readMay 29, 2017
Yellowfin is a Java based application that provides dashboard, reporting and data analysis to is users. The absence of a default JDBC-ODBC bridge driver has resulted in users being stuck with older versions of both Java and its previously bundled bridge driver; which is no longer maintained.
OpenLink’s JDBC-ODBC bridge provides a commercial-grade solution to this problem by providing Yellowfin users with access to ODBC data sources.
Prerequisites (For Any Operating System)
- Working JDBC connection using OpenLink’s JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver
Adding and Registering JDBC Drivers to Yellowfin
- Copy or create an alias of the JDBC-ODBC driver you intend to use with Yellowfin into its respective JDBC driver library, located at: …/Yellowfin 7.35/appserver/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/lib
- For Java 8, use opljdbc4_2.jar.
- Next, the driver classes will need to be added to the web.xml file located at: …/Yellowfin 7.35/appserver/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/web.xml. The class for opljdbc4.jar is openlink.jdbc4.Driver .
Creating an JDBC Connection to an ODBC Data Source
- Enter your Yellowfin host URL and access the Admin Console, and click add in the data sources pane.
Click on Database as the selected data source.
- Enter the required JDBC connection info from your previously working ODBC-JDBC bridge connection. Basic connection string syntax is:
jdbc:openlink://ODBC/DSN=[DSN]
- Click on the down arrow next to Create View and click Test Connection. If the connection is successful, click Create View.
- Select FreehandSQL and enter the query you would like to analyze, and click on validate to confirm that your SQL query is useable. Name your view and optionally provide a description. Click Create Analysis to begin analyzing data.
- From here you can analyze, chart, and report on data from your ODBC data source in the same manner you would from JDBC sources.
Related
- Installing & Using the OpenLink Lite Edition ODBC-JDBC Bridge Driver for Mac OS X
- OpenLink JDBC-to-ODBC Bridge Drivers Are More Than Transitional Solutions
- iODBC SDK & Runtime for Mac OS X — for ODBC experience that matches what’s offered on Windows
- Amazon Athena — Interactive Query Service for S3 hosted Databases using SQL
- OpenLink JDBC-ODBC Driver Home Page — Single-Tier Edition
- OpenLink JDBC-JDBC Driver Home Page — Multi-Tier Edition
- Download Free Evaluation License & Installer for OpenLink JDBC-ODBC Bridge Drivers.