How to display content from a second database

Question

I have two separate mysql databases setup:

1) With all the Drupal 7 related tables etc etc

2) A custom database into which I will feed simple high score data from an external source eg. username, score, time etc

Is there currently a module which will turn my second database into something an end user can view/sort in a Drupal Page or content type? Obviously there is little point in collecting user high scores data is the users can't see it. I have come across only the Data module, but it is unclear to me as to if this does exactly I would need it too. For example there doesn't seem to be an options to change the tables appearance or style, something which the D6 only module Table Wizard did do. Has anyone used this module before, and if so has it been for a purpose similar to mine?

Answer 1

Maybe consider the Forena module for accessing your data in your custom database. It seems like a perfect fit for what you're asking for. It also includes charting features, which is typically a related requirement. Not many people know about it, which is why I wanted to mention it here.

Forena is built of the idea of using SQL to get data out of a database and use XHTML and CSS to format it into web reports.

Various DBMSs are supported, such as Oracle, MS Sql, Postgress, SQLite, MySQL, any PDO compliant DBMS. You didn't specify if your custom database is any of those, but any of these will do ... And there are quite some reasons for considering Forena.

Visit the Forena HowTos page for some links (near the bottom) to some live demo / showcase links.

Note: I'm a co-maintainer of Forena.