Connect to ActiveTrail Data in JRuby

JRuby is a high-performance, stable, fully threaded Java implementation of the Ruby programming language. The CData JDBC Driver for ActiveTrail makes it easy to integrate connectivity to live ActiveTrail data in JRuby. This article shows how to create a simple JRuby app that connects to ActiveTrail data, executes a query, and displays the results.

Configure a JDBC Connection to ActiveTrail Data

Before creating the app, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for ActiveTrail\lib).

JRuby natively supports JDBC, so you can easily connect to ActiveTrail and execute SQL queries. Initialize the JDBC connection with the getConnection function of the java.sql.DriverManager class.

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

ActiveTrail API Profile Settings

ActiveTrail uses API key authentication. To obtain an API key:

1. Log in to your ActiveTrail account at https://app.activetrail.com
2. Navigate to your account settings and locate the API integration section
3. Generate or copy your existing API key

After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your ActiveTrail API key.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the ActiveTrail 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.

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for ActiveTrail:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ActiveTrail.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=your_api_key;

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to ActiveTrail Data

Create a new Ruby file (for example: APISelect.rb) and open it in a text editor. Copy the following code into your file:

require 'java'
require 'rubygems'
require 'C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for ActiveTrail 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\ActiveTrail.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=your_api_key;"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Id, Email FROM GroupMembers")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

With the file completed, you are ready to display your ActiveTrail data with JRuby. To do so, simply run your file from the command line:

jruby -S APISelect.rb

Writing SQL-92 queries to ActiveTrail allows you to quickly and easily incorporate ActiveTrail data into your own JRuby applications. Download a free trial today!