What is a Datasource

A Datasource is a connection to a database or alternative source of information (such as a file-system), it holds the authentication information as needed. Datasources are used primarily by Processes and Server Pages to retreive and store information from the given Datasource.

Datasource Types

Type	Description
Database	These are direct connections to a source database. Accessible on a public IP address or after establishing a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
File-System	This is a direct link to the files system on a given instance. This Datasouce is used when text files have been uploaded to the instance.

Datasource Usage

Datasource for a Process

Datasources are primarily used by processes as the source of the information they process. Database type Datasources support both sourcing a full table of information or data from a user-input SQL query.

Process with the Internal Datastore Datasource selected.

Datasource queries in JavaScript

Both Processes and Custom Server Pages can use the scripting functions in jAvaScript to return or modify data from any Database type Datasource.

datasource.insert(datastoreName, query, [...prompts])
datasource.select(datastoreName, query, [...prompts])
datasource.update(datastoreName, query, [...prompts])

Here is an example script which selects records from a Datasource using the datasource.select function in conjunction with an SQL query.

/*
This example will run the following SQL query and return 
    the results as an array of objects.

    SELECT 
        account_code, 
        account_name, 
        account_type 
    FROM 
        performance_management.accounts 
    WHERE 
        account_code = 'REV';

The parameterisation is used to ensure all inputs are sanitized 
    from SQL injection and are data integrity is maintained 
    when the function encounters unescaped characters.
*/
let records = JSON.parse(
        datasource.select(
            `Internal Datastore`,
            `SELECT account_code, account_name, account_type FROM 
                performance_management.accounts WHERE account_type = ?`, 
            [`REV`]
        )
    );
console.log(records);
/*
This will log the following:
[
    {"account_code":"43050","account_name":"Revenue - Subscription Sales","account_type":"REV"},
    {"account_code":"43051","account_name":"Revenue - Direct Sales","account_type":"REV"},
    {"account_code":"43052","account_name":"Revenue - Services","account_type":"REV"},
]
*/

Adding a Datasource

Adding new Datasources via Gateway

To add a new datasource to MODLR, navigate to the Manage Datasources page.

1. Click New Datasource
2. Fill out the Datasource connection information.
3. Test the connection details. If the Datasource cannot be reached, it will not be possible to save the Datasource.
4. Save the Datasource