Connecting F# to Salesforce

The Salesforce ODBC driver enables you to work with Salesforce data from F#. Note that the procedure outlined in this blog is the same for any ODBC driver, so it's still relevant even if you are using F# with another ODBC driver.

The Salesforce ODBC driver is available to download from the Easysoft web site:

1. Download the Windows Salesforce ODBC driver.
2. Install and license the Salesforce ODBC driver on the machine where is installed.

   For installation instructions, refer to the Salesforce ODBC driver documentation.

Before you can use the Salesforce ODBC driver to connect F# to Salesforce, you need to configure an ODBC data source. An ODBC data source stores the connection details for the target database (in this case, Salesforce) and the ODBC driver that is required to connect to it (in this case, the Salesforce ODBC driver).

To create a Salesforce ODBC driver data source:

1. In the 32-bit version of ODBC Data Source Administrator, choose the System DSN tab, and then choose Add.

   To run the 32-bit version of ODBC Data Source Administrator, in the Windows Run dialog box, enter:

   %windir%\syswow64\odbcad32.exe

1. Choose the System DSN tab, and then choose Add.
2. In the Create New Data Source dialog box, choose Easysoft ODBC-Salesforce driver, and then choose Finish.
3. Complete the DSN Setup dialog box:

   Setting	Value
   DSN	Salesforce
   User Name	The name of your Salesforce user. For example, myuser@mydomain.com.
   Password	The password for your Salesforce user.
   Token	The security token for your Salesforce user, if required. To find out whether you need to supply a security token, choose the Test button. If the connection attempt fails with an error which contains LOGIN_MUST_USE_SECURITY_TOKEN, you need to supply one. Salesforce emails the security token to the email address associated with your Salesforce user account. If you have not received a security token, you can regenerate it. Salesforce will then email the new security token to you. To regenerate your security token, log in to Salesforce and then choose Setup from the user menu. Search for "security token" in the Quick Find box. Choose Reset Security Token in the Reset Security Token page. When you receive the token in your email client, copy it and then paste it into the Token field.

4. Use the Test button to verify that you can successfully connect to Salesforce.
2. Use the Test button to verify that you can successfully connect to Salesforce.

1. In Visual Studio, create a new F# console application.
2. Right-click the Solution Explorer pane. From the shortcut menu, choose Add > Reference.

   The Reference Manager dialog box is displayed.

3. Choose System.Data from the list, and then choose OK.
4. In the ConsoleApplication1 pane, add this code:

   open System
   open System.Data.Odbc
   
   let connectToDb() =
       // Salesforce ODBC Data Source
       let connectionString = "DSN=Salesforce"
       new OdbcConnection(connectionString)
   
   let getODBCData()=
       let connection = connectToDb()
       let tableName = "Account"
       let sqlQuery = "SELECT * FROM " + tableName
       let cmd = new OdbcCommand(sqlQuery,connection)
       connection.Open()
       let result = cmd.ExecuteReader()
   
       // Retrieve the first column from the Account table
       if (result.HasRows) then while result.Read() do Console.WriteLine(result.GetValue(0))
       else Console.WriteLine("No rows found.")
     
       result.Close()
       connection.Close()
       Console.ReadKey()
   
   [<EntryPoint>]
   let main argv =
       let salesforceData = getODBCData()
       0

5. From the Build menu, choose Build Solution.
6. Choose the Start button.