Retrieve data into Quixy from 3rd party database (External App References)

17 Mar 2023
4 Minutes to read
Contributors

Retrieve data into Quixy from 3rd party database (External App References)

Updated on 17 Mar 2023
4 Minutes to read
Contributors

Article Summary

External App References feature is used to retrieve any kind of data into an Quixy application from any 3rd party database that has an Open/Rest API.

There are two different types of APIs:

Open Source: These are universal APIs that can be used by any individual to retrieve the data from the 3rd party database without any restrictions because it does not require any authentication.
Secured: These are also universal APIs but these are secured with a Password, or secret key, or token, etc., that require authentication while consuming these APIs and retrieve the data from the 3rd party database.

How to configure External App Reference (Without Authentication)?

On the dashboard page, click on the Admin Menu > Database > Lookups.

On Lookups list page, click on the External App References tab.

On External App References list page, click on the Add button on the top right corner of the page.

You will land on the External App Reference creation page.

Start by giving a Name to the External App Reference.
Select the Reference Type: The reference type selection for a system that involves input fields and output values. The two available options are "Single" and "Cascade".
- If you choose "Single", the system will load all input fields without any dependency between them. This means you can select values in any order you wish to obtain the desired output values.
- If you choose "Cascade", the system will load multiple input fields in a specific sequence, and each subsequent field will be filtered based on the value selected in the preceding field. This means you must choose input values in the exact sequence defined during the creation of the Get Function.

EXAMPLE

Let's take an example to better understand the "Cascade" reference type selection. Suppose you have three input fields in a sequence: Continent, Country, and State. Each of these fields contains a list of all the continents, countries, and states in the world, respectively.

When you select a value in the Continent input field, let's say "Asia", the Country input field will load and display all the countries in the Asia continent, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and so on.

After selecting a value in the Country input field, let's say "India", the State input field will load and display all the states present in India. This means the options available in the State field will be filtered based on the selection made in the Country field. This is an example of how the "Cascade" reference type selection works.

Select the Method Type: Get or Post

NOTE

Both GET and POST method is used to transfer data from client to server in HTTP protocol but Main difference between POST and GET method is that GET carries request parameter appended in URL string while POST carries request parameter in message body.

Since we are creating an External Reference with an Open Source API, it doesn't require any authentication, so, choose the Authentication Type as None.
Enter the API that you have obtained from 3rd party system in the App Reference Url box.

After entering the API, click on the Test API button at the bottom to examine the API and make sure that it works.
If the API works, you will get the option to select the input values.

You can add multiple input fields and the selected Input fields will be in-relation to each other.

Once you select the input values, you will have an option the check the output values.
The output values will be listed based on the input values that you select.
To see the list of output values, click on the Get Output button.

The output values would list as shown below

Finally, click on the Submit button to save the reference.

How to configure External App Reference (With Authentication)?

Many people across the globe would secure their database's APIs with different types of authentications. The APIs might be secured with a Password, or secret key, or token, etc.,

To consume these APIs, in Quixy we have different types of authentications to access these secured APIs. We just need to obtain the security details from the 3rd party system and provide it in Quixy.

Configure a External App Reference (With Authentication)

On the dashboard page, click on the Admin Menu > Database > Lookups.

On Lookups list page, click on the External App References tab.

On External App References list page, click on the Add button on the top right corner of the page.

You will land on the External App Reference creation page.

Start by giving a Name to the External App Reference.
Select the Reference Type & Method Type
Select the Authentication type according to the API that you are consuming and it's security.
As of now in Quixy, we have four different authentication types.

1. OAuth 2 Clientid Secret: This is used when the API is secured with a Secret Key.

2. Token Authentication: This is used when the API is secured with a Access Token.

3. Basic Authentication: This is used when the API is secured with a simple User Name & Password.

4. OAuth 2 Basic: This is used when the API is secured with a combination Access Token, User Name & Password.

NOTE

You need to obtain the security details (i.e., Token End Point, User Name, Password, Secret Key, Client ID) from the 3rd party system and provide it in Quixy.

After providing the authentication values, give the API in the App Reference Url box and click Test API to authenticate the API.

Once the API get authenticated, you will get an option to select the Input Values.
Select the input values and obtain the Output values.
Click on Submit to save the External App Reference.

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