Data sources
MS SQL Server
The SQL Server data source connects a Microsoft SQL Server database to the Peakboard Designer. You provide the connection details, define a SQL statement, and afterwards bind the result columns to controls the same way as any other data source.
Add the data source
Right-click on [Data] and choose [Add data source]. In the following dialog, select the data source [SQL Server] (1).
Configure the connection
In the following dialog give the data source a name (1) in the [General] section. In the [Connection] section enter the host name (2) and the name of the database (3). If a host has multiple SQL Server instances, append the desired instance to the host name with a backslash. Then provide the user name (4) and the password (5) for the SQL Server login.
In the [Statement] section (6) you enter the SQL statement that delivers the data for your application. For very complex queries, create a view in SQL Server and let Peakboard query that view.
A click on [Load data] (7) checks the connection and loads a preview of the result rows. The [Connection test] button lets you verify in isolation that Peakboard can reach the SQL server.
Use variables inside the SQL statement
You can reference Peakboard variables as placeholders directly inside the SQL statement. Peakboard substitutes the placeholder with the current value of the variable at execution time. The placeholder uses the pattern #[VariableName]# (1).
This lets you forward a user’s selection – for example from a slider, an input field or a drop-down – directly into the SQL query. A full example with scripts is available in the Dynamic queries article.
Generate the SQL statement with a script
If a single placeholder is not enough – for example because you want to assemble columns, tables or whole WHERE clauses at execution time depending on multiple conditions – you can build the SQL statement entirely from a script. To do so, click the [</>] icon (1) in the [Statement] area to switch on [Use script]. The editor switches to the Peakboard script editor. Your script must return the finished SQL statement as a string (2).
In the example above, a constant SELECT statement is concatenated with the current value of the variable CurrentStatus, building the complete statement dynamically.
Load preview data
With a click on [Load data] Peakboard executes the SQL statement and shows a preview of the returned rows in the [Preview] area. This lets you verify connection, credentials and statement at once.
A click on [OK] creates the data source. It then appears in the explorer under [Data] (1) and can be dragged onto controls (e.g. table, styled list, chart) just like any other data source.
