How to read ServiceNow data in ODBC application?

In this section we will learn how to configure and use ServiceNow Connector in the API Driver to extract data from the ServiceNow.

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from using we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from . We will later be able to read data using . Perform these steps:

1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

   

3. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

   ZappySys API Driver

   
   • Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
   • Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.

4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "ServiceNow" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "ServiceNow" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

   ServicenowDSN

   ServiceNow

   

5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    Basic Auth [Http]

   Authenticate using ServiceNow instance username and password.

   Steps how to get and use ServiceNow credentials
   

   Locate your ServiceNow instance credentials and use them for HTTP authentication:

   1. Go to https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do and log in.
   2. Click on your profile picture.

   3. When a menu appears, click on Manage instance password or a similar option:

      

   4. In a new window you will see your HTTP Basic Authentication credentials:

      

   5. Done! Use this username and password when configuring OAuth Authentication parameters.

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   ServicenowDSN

   ServiceNow

   Basic Auth [Http]

   https://[$InstanceName$].service-now.com/api/now

   Required Parameters
   InstanceName	Fill-in the parameter...
   User name	Fill-in the parameter...
   Password	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   ApiVersion	v2
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

    OAuth [OAuth]

   Authenticate using ServiceNow instance username, password, OAuth Client ID, and Client Secret. [API reference]

   Steps how to get and use ServiceNow credentials
   

   Create OAuth application and use it for authentication:

   1. Login to your instance at https://your-instance-id.service-now.com.

   2. Start by clicking on menu item All, then search for oauth, and click Application Registry option:

      

   3. Then click button New:

      

   4. Continue by clicking Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients option:

      

   5. Move on by naming your OAuth application and entering a Client Secret (or let it be generated automatically).

   6. Finally give it a final touch by increasing the Refresh Token Lifespan value to 315,360,000 (it should last for 10 years):

      

   7. Done! Now you can use Client ID and Client Secret when configuring OAuth Authentication parameters.

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   ServicenowDSN

   ServiceNow

   OAuth [OAuth]

   https://[$InstanceName$].service-now.com/api/now

   Required Parameters
   InstanceName	Fill-in the parameter...
   User name	Fill-in the parameter...
   Password	Fill-in the parameter...
   Client ID	Fill-in the parameter...
   Client Secret	Fill-in the parameter...
   ApiVersion	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429|503
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

6. Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

   

   - ServiceNow

   Allows the reading and writing of incidents, attachments, and more in ServiceNow without coding! The ZappySys ServiceNow API Connector provides easy-to-use, high-performance API access.

   ServicenowDSN

   

7. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in to retrieve data from ServiceNow. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

   SELECT * FROM incident 
   
   --Using Primary Key				
   --SELECT * FROM any_table_here WHERE sys_id='109562a3c611227500a7b7ff98cc0dc7' --Primary Key in WHERE clause
   
   --Using Filter Expression
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001') --Equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number!=INC0000001') --Not equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberININC0000001,INC0000002,INC0000003') --IN condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7') --AND condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^ORnumber=INC0000002') --OR condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberLIKE0001') --LIKE condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberSTARTSWITHINC00') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberENDSWITH0001') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7^NQORnumber=INC0000002') --AND / OR MIXED using NQ (NewQuery Operator)  -- (number=INC0000001 and state=7) OR (number=INC0000002)
   
   --more information about filter here https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-platform-user-interface/page/use/common-ui-elements/reference/r_OpAvailableFiltersQueries.html
   
   
   -- To read all available tables execute this query:
   -- SELECT * FROM Tables
   
   -- Other common tables:
   -----------------------
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_db_object
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_dictionary
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_has_role
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_grmember
   -- SELECT * FROM task
   -- SELECT * FROM task_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM incident
   -- SELECT * FROM incident_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM change_request
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_computer
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_outage
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci
   -- SELECT * FROM sn_customerservice_case
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_knowledge
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_use
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_req_item
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_request
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_task

   
   Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the ServiceNow API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.

8. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in :

   

   - ServiceNow

   Allows the reading and writing of incidents, attachments, and more in ServiceNow without coding! The ZappySys ServiceNow API Connector provides easy-to-use, high-performance API access.

   ServicenowDSN

   SELECT * FROM incident 
   
   --Using Primary Key				
   --SELECT * FROM any_table_here WHERE sys_id='109562a3c611227500a7b7ff98cc0dc7' --Primary Key in WHERE clause
   
   --Using Filter Expression
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001') --Equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number!=INC0000001') --Not equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberININC0000001,INC0000002,INC0000003') --IN condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7') --AND condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^ORnumber=INC0000002') --OR condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberLIKE0001') --LIKE condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberSTARTSWITHINC00') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberENDSWITH0001') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7^NQORnumber=INC0000002') --AND / OR MIXED using NQ (NewQuery Operator)  -- (number=INC0000001 and state=7) OR (number=INC0000002)
   
   --more information about filter here https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-platform-user-interface/page/use/common-ui-elements/reference/r_OpAvailableFiltersQueries.html
   
   
   -- To read all available tables execute this query:
   -- SELECT * FROM Tables
   
   -- Other common tables:
   -----------------------
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_db_object
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_dictionary
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_has_role
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_grmember
   -- SELECT * FROM task
   -- SELECT * FROM task_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM incident
   -- SELECT * FROM incident_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM change_request
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_computer
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_outage
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci
   -- SELECT * FROM sn_customerservice_case
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_knowledge
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_use
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_req_item
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_request
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_task

   
   You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
   A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the ServiceNow API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in ServiceNow servers).

9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Reading data from client application

1. Firstly, to get data from ODBC data source based on ZappySys ODBC driver, in your client application, you would need to connect to ODBC source and then from the list select the data source.

2. Finally, to read the data just read tables/views in your app or enter a SQL statement to extract data, e.g.:

   SELECT * FROM Tables

ServiceNow Connector Examples

The ZappySys API Driver is a user-friendly interface designed to facilitate the seamless integration of various applications with the ServiceNow API. With its intuitive design and robust functionality, the ZappySys API Driver simplifies the process of configuring specific API endpoints to efficiently read or write data from ServiceNow.

Click here to find more ServiceNow Connector examples designed for seamless integration with the ZappySys API ODBC Driver under ODBC Data Source (36/64) or ZappySys Data Gateway, enhancing your ability to connect and interact with Prebuilt Connectors effectively.

Consume Data inside your App / Programming Language

ODBC inside ETL / Reporting / BI Tools

• Power BI
• Tableau
• Excel
• Informatica PowerCenter
• QlikView
• SQL Server / Linked Server
• SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services)

ODBC inside Programming Languages

• C# (CSharp)
• JAVA
• PHP
• PowerShell
• Python
• T-SQL / SQL Server Linked Server

Key features of the ZappySys API Driver include:

The API ODBC driver facilitates the reading and writing of data from numerous popular online services (refer to the complete list here) using familiar SQL language without learning complexity of REST API calls. The driver allows querying nested structure and output as a flat table. You can also create your own ODBC / Data Gateway API connector file and use it with this driver.

1. Intuitive Configuration: The interface is designed to be user-friendly, enabling users to easily set up the specific API endpoints within ServiceNow without requiring extensive technical expertise or programming knowledge.

2. Customizable Endpoint Setup: Users can conveniently configure the API endpoint settings, including the HTTP request method, endpoint URL, and any necessary parameters, to precisely target the desired data within ServiceNow.

3. Data Manipulation Capabilities: The ZappySys API Driver allows for seamless data retrieval and writing, enabling users to fetch data from ServiceNow and perform various data manipulation operations as needed, all through an intuitive and straightforward interface.

4. Secure Authentication Integration: The driver provides secure authentication integration, allowing users to securely connect to the ServiceNow API by inputting the necessary authentication credentials, such as API tokens or other authentication keys.

5. Error Handling Support: The interface is equipped with comprehensive error handling support, ensuring that any errors or exceptions encountered during the data retrieval or writing process are efficiently managed and appropriately communicated to users for prompt resolution.

6. Data Visualization and Reporting: The ZappySys API Driver facilitates the seamless processing and presentation of the retrieved data from ServiceNow, enabling users to generate comprehensive reports and visualizations for further analysis and decision-making purposes.

Overall, the ZappySys API Driver serves as a powerful tool for streamlining the integration of applications with ServiceNow, providing users with a convenient and efficient way to access and manage data, all through a user-friendly and intuitive interface.