VBA API for

ScriptDBGoogle Apps ScriptDB from Excel

what is this API for?

• Allow maintenance and query Google Apps

Script ScriptDB directly from VBA

• Share data in real time between Google

Docs and Office

• a free noSQL database for Excel

• Migration or coexistence path for GAS and

VBA

COMPONENTS

VBA

API

Your

code Your GAS

webapp

Handler (s)

Your

codeYour

VBA

code

Your

ScriptDB

dispatcher

GAS

Library

API

Your

codeYour

codeMultiple

ScriptDB

PC

Registry

oauth2 /

rest

encrypted

oauth2

credentials

simple

noSql

authentication with oAuth2

One off

credential

storage

Registry

● Get oAuth2 credentials from Google Cloud Console

● Run the below to encrypt them on your PC, one time

only.

getGoogled("drive", , "xxxxx.apps.googleusercontent.com", "xxxxx").tearDown

● Credentials are shared between all VBA APIs

needing oAuth2 on Excel Liberation

● Thereafter, oauth2 dance is automatically handled in

all API requests

user/google

scope

optional access control

User and

Access

type

credentials

Registry

● You can also optionally add a couple more keys,

which are passed with every request in its header

● Equivalent to the RESTAPIkey and ApplicationID in

parse.com

● Your Gas Webapp handler can inspect these to

signal the GAS API the type of access allowed

● Only needs to be stored one time

scriptdbCom.init("anything",”some entry id” ,”some scope id”,

"your app id", _

"your restapikey", , , True, _

"Gas web app url endpoint").tearDown

your entry/

your scope

comparison with parse.com API

cParseCom

VBA APIcScriptDBCom

VBA API

cParseCom

GAS API

parse.com cloud based noSQL

database

VBA and GAS Main Apps are virtually the same code irrespective of the

database

GAS scriptDB

cloud based noSQL

database

GAS scriptDB

webApp and API

library

parse.com restAPI handler

optimization and batching

• The gas library api will batch all requests it can.

• You should also batch requests from VBA API. It will

automatically handle batching limits.

• It’s easy. Just enclose various operations with .batch()with getScriptDb("someSilo")

.batch(True)

.someoperations(...)

.someotheroperations(...)

.batch(false) better

when

batched

example - create an object

Data is stored in silos within one or more ScriptDb

code

getScriptDb("somesilo") _

.createObject(JSONParse("{'customerid':1}"))

response (.jObject.stringify)

{

"status":"good",

"results":[]

}

better

when

batched

example - do a query

Queries are by example, and can include limit/skip

code

getScriptDb("somesilo") _

.getObjectsByQuery(JSONParse("{'customerid':1}"), JSONParse("{'limit':10}"))

response (.jObject.stringify)

{"status":"good","count":1,"results":[ {

"siloId":"somesilo",

"customerid":1,

"objectId":"S320799307189"

} ]

}

example - update objects

All matching objects are updated to the given value. New

fields are created, existing fields are replaced

code

getScriptDb("somesilo") _

.updateObjects(JSONParse("{'customerid':1}"), JSONParse("{'name':'john'}"))

response (.jObject.stringify)

{ "status":"good","results":[]}

better

when

batched

example - count matching objects

Count operations can have optional queries

code

getScriptDb("somesilo") _

.count(JSONParse("{'customerid':1}")))

response

1

example - get object by id

Each object is assigned a unique Id returned by queries

code

getScriptDb("someSilo")

.getObjectById ("S320802188977")

response (.jObject.stringify)

{"status":"good","count":1,"results":[ {

"siloId":"somesilo",

"customerid":1,

"name":"john"

} ]

}

example - delete objects

All objects matching the query are deleted

code

getScriptDb("somesilo").deleteObjects(JSONParse("{'customerid':1}"))

response (.jObject.stringify)

{"status":"good","count":0,"results":[ ]}

better

when

batched

example - load a spreadsheet to

scriptDb

Example add-on for this is included in workbook

code

populateFromSheet "VBAParseData"

Reading sheet and creating scriptDB objects

With dset.populateData(wholeSheet(sheetName), , , , , , True).jObject(, True, True)

For Each job In .children

Debug.Assert scriptdbCom.createObject(job).isOk

Next job

.tearDown

End With

better

when

batched

limits and skipping

Queries are subject to limits, so you need to work multiple

passes for big queries using skip/limitDo

With sdb.getObjectsByQuery(Nothing, jobskip).jObject.child("results")

If .children.count = 0 Or Not sdb.isOk Then Exit Do

jobskip.child("skip").value = jobskip.child("skip").value + .children.count

For Each job In .children

jobStore.add , job.toString("objectId")

Next job

End With

Loop

{"results":["S320923864193","S320923308803", …. ]}

this is

automatically

handled for update

and delete

dates and times

These are handled the same was as

parse.com"date":{

"__type":"Date",

"iso":"2013-08-22T00:00:00.000Z"

}

with supplied conversion function used like this

Debug.Print "date converted", getAnIsoDate(jor.child("date"))

silos and parse classes

• A Silo is like a parse Class. For 2D data it

can be considered like a table.

• Multiple classes can be held in the same

scriptDB.

• scriptDB siloing is handled automatically

• A seperate cScriptDbCom instance should

be instatiated for each class being worked

on

multiple scriptDB

• The scriptDB dispatcher handled which actual scriptDB

to write to.

• Multiple DBs can be used by referencing multiple

libraries in the scriptDB dispatcher.

• Library names will be signalled to the dispatcher if they

are in the setup for this entryscriptdbCom.init("anything", "some entry name", , "your app id", "your restapikey", , _

"some library",, "your web app Url")

restricting operations

You may want to allow a different kind of access to certain

users.

• provide a different URL or use the app keys to signal

some restricted access , and include something like this

in the doGet() and doPost() functionsvar whatsAllowed = ['query','count','getbyid'];

• setting that configuration up under a different entryscriptdbCom.init("anything", "some restricted entry", , "your app id", "your restapikey", , _

, "your restricted web app Url")

performance versus parse.com

• Performance of parse.com as a rest API

handler seems to be much better than

scriptDB for most operations.

• A full analysis will be published on Excel

Liberation and associated blog at some

future date

accessing from other apps

• The scriptDB GAS handler API can be

accessed using any rest query mechanism.

• The VBA API just manages the conversation

with the scriptDB GAS handler

• Examples of other languages will be on

Excel Liberation at a later date.

public facing scriptdb

• Normally access is controlled by oAuth2 - especially if

you are allowing write access.

• oAuth2 is very much invisible in this API, as described

in this writeup, but you still need to get google

credentials

• You can dispense with oAuth2 altogether for public

facing scriptdb by signalling false in the entry setupscriptdbCom.init("anything", "readonly", , "your app id", "your restapikey", , "some library", False, _

"https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycbx7_gPpc38Map4QqHOQrzx_kvIX00nfYGO9OLq8_cMD486Va6M/exec")

further detail

All this code is downloadable or copyable from

Google Apps Script Libraries.

For more information see Excel Liberation