Connect to eBay Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for eBay into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for eBay to transfer eBay data to a process in RapidMiner.

Connect to eBay in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to eBay:

1. Add a new database driver for eBay: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL: jdbc:ebay:
4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.ebay.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class: cdata.jdbc.ebay.EbayDriver
6. Create a new eBay connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the eBay driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   If you will be accessing your own account, you can generate an OAuthAccessToken from your developer account dashboard. You can also allow other users to securely access their own accounts.

   Both of these methods require you to create an application key set to obtain values for the following connection properties: AppId, CertId, DevId, and SiteId.

   The user consent flow additionally requires the RuName and CallbackURL.

   See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.ebay.jar

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

   A typical connection string is below:

   AppId=MyAppId;CertId=MyCertId;DevId=MyDevId;SiteId=MySiteId;RuName=MyRuName;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
10. Enter your username and password if necessary.

You can now use your eBay connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve eBay data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the eBay data.