Access ConstantContact Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver

The CData API Driver for JDBC connects ConstantContact data to Mule applications enabling read functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze ConstantContact data.

This article demonstrates how to use the CData API Driver for JDBC inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for ConstantContact data. The application created allows you to request ConstantContact data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the 200+ available data sources.

1. Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
2. Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
3. Configure the address for the HTTP Connector.
4. Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
5. Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
   • Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
   • Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.api.jar).
   • Set the URL to the connection string for ConstantContact

     Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the ConstantContact Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\ConstantContact.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Profile (see below).

     ConstantContact API Profile Settings

     ConstantContact uses OAuth-based authentication.

     First, you will need to register an OAuth application with ConstantContact. You can do so from the ConstantContact API Guide (https://v3.developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/index.html), under "MyApplications" > "New Application". Your Oauth application will be assigned a client id (API Key) and you can generate a client secret (Secret).

     After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

     • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
     • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
     • OAuthClientId: Set this to the client_id that is specified in you app settings.
     • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in you app settings.
     • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the ConstantContact JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   • Set the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver.
   • Click Test Connection.
6. Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request ConstantContact data. For example: SELECT Id, EmailAddress FROM Contacts WHERE CompanyName = 'Acme, Inc.'
7. Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
8. Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:

   %dw 2.0
   output application/json
   ---
   payload
           

9. To view your ConstantContact data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The ConstantContact data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.

At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with ConstantContact data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for ConstantContact and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.