Quick Start: Connect to a REST API

Key Points: Connect to REST API

  • You can easily connect to REST APIs with TimeXtender. JSON is the most common way to do so, but XML is also supported.
  • RSD file is generated by TimeXtender and can be used with more advanced features such as pagination and adding parameters.
  • Row Scan Depth infers the data type of a field with the specified number of rows. Setting Row Scan Depth to 0 scans all rows, and can help resolve some data type issues on load.


Key Steps: Connect to REST API

Add a single REST API data source

  1. Select Add Data Source from Data Sources on your ODX Server
  2. Provide a Name for the data source
  3. Select the most recent CData REST provider
  4. Specify the URI under Connection as the main endpoint
  5. Specify values for your required Authentication type (common options include HTTP or OAuth)
  6. Complete the connection information, as your data source requires
  7. Select the tables you wish to include
  8. Create a task (a scheduled data load), if you choose, then select Finish
  9. Select Synchronize Objects under the new data source, to prepare the data connection for transfer to your
  10. Select Execute under the new data source task


Add multiple REST connections

  1. Create the REST connection (see steps 1-5 above).
  2. Specify the URI under Connection as the main endpoint
  3. Select OnStart for "Generate Schema Files" under Misc
  4. Set the path to a folder where you can save the schema files in Location under Schema
  5. Complete the REST connection, task setup, and synchronization (see steps 6-9 above)
  6. Select Edit Custom Data Source on the new REST data source
  7. Change the URI, to another URI data source within the REST
  8. Click OK
  9. Select Synchronize Objects on the REST data source. This will recognize the next URI as another table, and save another schema file in the defined location.
  10. Repeat steps 6-9 until all files are added
  11. Finally, select Edit Custom Data Source on the REST data source
  12. Change value for "Generate Schema Files" to NEVER (from OnStart) under Misc


For more detailed instructions, please see Connect to a REST API.


Understanding Connect to a REST API

TimeXtender makes it simple to add a REST API connection. Both JSON and XML are supported as standard ways to connect to REST data. Advanced functionalities such as parsing hierarchical data, pagination, and adding parameters via the RSD file, are also possible.

For more detailed information, please see Connect to a REST API.

Many organizations provide access to data via a REST API. (REST stands for REpresentational State Transfer, and it is an architectural pattern for providing standards between computer systems.) Commonly, REST can structure data into any machine-readable format (e.g. CSV, XML, YAML, etc.), but usually JSON is preferred.

CData ADO.Net Provider for REST is a comprehensive guide about the data provider.


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