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  • Introduction
  • Connecting to Data Source
    1. Supported data sources
    2. Connecting to other data sources
  • Browser compatibility
  • Documentation for older versions
  • Connecting to other data sources

    This guide describes ways of connecting to the data sources that are not supported in Flexmonster out of the box (e.g., NoSQL databases or data warehouses such as Amazon Redshift).

    We suggest three approaches to connect the component to your data source:

    • The easiest way: writing a server-side script that returns data in a JSON or CSV format — learn more here.
    • For .NET Core stack: using Flexmonster Data Server as a DLL, which allows implementing custom data fetching logic — learn more here.
    • For any stack: implementing a custom server that will retrieve data from your data source and pass it to Flexmonster — learn more here.

    Get data from a data source with a server-side script

    The steps below describe how to use a server-side script as a data provider for Flexmonster.

    Step 1. Embed the component into your webpage

    If Flexmonster is not yet embedded, set up an empty component in your webpage:

    In pure JavaScript

    Complete the Integrating Flexmonster guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    let pivot = new Flexmonster({
      container: "pivotContainer",
      componentFolder: "node_modules/flexmonster/",
      toolbar: true
    });

    In React

    Complete the Integration with React guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    <FlexmonsterReact.Pivot
     toolbar={true}
    />

    In Angular

    Complete the Integration with Angular guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    <fm-pivot
     [toolbar]="true">
    </fm-pivot>

    In Vue

    Complete the Integration with Vue guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

    <Pivot
     toolbar
    />

    Step 2. Prepare data from your data source

    Write a server-side script that returns data from your data source in JSON or CSV format. The component will later use the URL to this server-side script. If you use Google BigQuery tables, see the guide for creating an application that returns data.

    Step 3. Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS)

    By default, the browser prevents JavaScript from making requests across domain boundaries. CORS allows web applications to make cross-domain requests. Visit enable-cors.org to find information on how to setup CORS on different types of servers.

    Step 4. Configure the report with your own data

    Now it’s time to configure the pivot table on the webpage. Let’s create a minimal report for this (replace type and filename with your specific values):

    var pivot = new Flexmonster({ 
      container: "pivotContainer", 
      componentFolder: "node_modules/flexmonster/",
      toolbar: true,
      report: { 
        dataSource: { 
          /* please pay attention to this property,  
           *  Flexmonster needs information  
           *  which data will be returned by the script;  
           *  for CSV data specify type: "csv" */ 
          type: "json", 
          filename: "URL_to_your_server_side_script" 
        } 
      }
    }); 

    Launch the webpage from a browser — there you go! A pivot table is embedded into your project.

    Get data from a data source with Flexmonster Data Server DLL

    Flexmonster Data Server is a server-side tool that loads data from a data source and keeps it in RAM. When Flexmonster Pivot requests the data, the Data Server aggregates it and then passes to the component in a ready-to-show format.

    Flexmonster Data Server DLL gives more flexibility in working with data. With the DLL, you can implement a custom data parser. This approach allows you to retrieve data from any data source in any format. 

    Moreover, the DLL provides ready-to-use methods that aggregate the data and send it to Flexmonster. 

    We have a set of detailed articles about using the Data Server as a DLL — check them out.

    Get data from a data source with a custom server

    Another option to visualize data from any data source is creating a custom server. The server should be responsible for fetching the data from a data source and processing it. Then it should pass the data to the component.

    Flexmonster can handle data from any server with the custom data source API. It is our custom protocol developed by the Flexmonster team. It allows retrieving already aggregated data from a server to Flexmonster Pivot.

    You should implement this protocol on your server to send the data to the component. To learn how to implement the custom data source API on your server, refer to our step-by-step guides.