Integrate LinkedIn with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including LinkedIn, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live LinkedIn data. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to LinkedIn, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to LinkedIn and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with LinkedIn data using native data types.

Connect to LinkedIn in SnapLogic

To connect to LinkedIn data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData LinkedIn JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for LinkedIn/lib by default).

Upload the LinkedIn JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to LinkedIn.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.linkedin.LinkedInDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the LinkedIn JDBC Driver, for example:

     jdbc:linkedin:OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=MyOAuthClientSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:portNumber;CompanyId=XXXXXXXRTK=XXXXXX;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

     Built-In Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.linkedin.jar

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

     LinkedIn uses the OAuth 2 authentication standard. You will need to obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret by registering an app with LinkedIn. For more information refer to our authentication guide.
5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read LinkedIn Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "LinkedIn"
• Set Table name to a table for LinkedIn using the schema name, for example: "LinkedIn"."CompanyStatusUpdates" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your LinkedIn data to another endpoint.

Piping LinkedIn Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your LinkedIn data to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from LinkedIn and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

Piping External Data to LinkedIn

As mentioned above, you can also use the JDBC Driver for LinkedIn in SnapLogic to write data to LinkedIn. Start by adding a Generic JDBC - Insert or Generic JDBC - Update snap to the dashboard.

1. Select the existing "Account" (connection) or create a new one
2. Configure the query:
   • Set Schema name to "LinkedIn"
   • Set Table name to a table for LinkedIn using the schema name, for example: "LinkedIn"."CompanyStatusUpdates" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
3. Save the Generic JDBC - Insert/Update snap

At this point, you have configured a snap to write data to LinkedIn, inserting new records or updating existing ones.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData JDBC Driver for LinkedIn you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating LinkedIn data with external services. For more information about connecting to LinkedIn, check at our CData JDBC Driver for LinkedIn page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for LinkedIn and get started today.