Build a PostgreSQL Interface for Anaplan Data using the CData JDBC Driver

There are a vast number of PostgreSQL clients available on the Internet. From standard Drivers to BI and Analytics tools, PostgreSQL is a popular interface for data access. Using our JDBC Drivers, you can now create PostgreSQL entry-points that you can connect to from any standard client.

To access Anaplan data as a PostgreSQL database, use the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan and a JDBC foreign data wrapper (FDW). In this article, we compile the FDW, install it, and query Anaplan data from PostgreSQL Server.

Connect to Anaplan Data as a JDBC Data Source

To connect to Anaplan as a JDBC data source, you will need the following:

• Driver JAR path: The JAR is located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

• Driver class:

  cdata.jdbc.anaplan.AnaplanDriver
  

• JDBC URL: The URL must start with "jdbc:anaplan:" and can include any of the connection properties in name-value pairs separated with semicolons.

  Authenticating to Anaplan

  The driver supports authenticating with Basic, Certificate, or OAuth. In every case, set Region to the region where your Anaplan account data is hosted (e.g., US1, which is the default).

  Using Basic Authentication

  Set AuthScheme to Basic, then supply your Anaplan User and Password. If your workspace uses single sign-on (SSO), you must be assigned as an Exception User to use Basic authentication.

  Using Certificate Authentication

  Set AuthScheme to Certificate, then supply the Certificate, CertificateType, and PrivateKey properties (and the matching CertificatePassword / PrivateKeyPassword if either is encrypted). The certificate must be a CA-issued X.509 certificate registered with your Anaplan tenant administrator.

  Using OAuth Authentication

  Register a custom OAuth application in Anaplan, then set the following properties:

  • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your application.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH to have the driver manage the OAuth token exchange and refresh automatically.

  See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

  Built-in Connection String Designer

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

  java -jar cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar
  

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

  

  A typical JDBC URL is below:

  jdbc:anaplan:OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;Region=US1;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;
  

Build the JDBC Foreign Data Wrapper

The Foreign Data Wrapper can be installed as an extension to PostgreSQL, without recompiling PostgreSQL. The jdbc2_fdw extension is used as an example (downloadable here).

1. Add a symlink from the shared object for your version of the JRE to /usr/lib/libjvm.so. For example:

   ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/amd64/server/libjvm.so /usr/lib/libjvm.so
   

2. Start the build:

   make install USE_PGXS=1
   

Query Anaplan Data as a PostgreSQL Database

After you have installed the extension, follow the steps below to start executing queries to Anaplan data:

1. Log into your database.
2. Load the extension for the database:

   CREATE EXTENSION jdbc2_fdw;
   

3. Create a server object for Anaplan:

   CREATE SERVER Anaplan 
   FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER jdbc2_fdw OPTIONS (
   drivername 'cdata.jdbc.anaplan.AnaplanDriver',
   url 'jdbc:anaplan:OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;Region=US1;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;',
   querytimeout '15',
   jarfile '/home/MyUser/CData/CData\ JDBC\ Driver\ for\ Salesforce MyDriverEdition/lib/cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar'); 
   

4. Create a user mapping for the username and password of a user known to the MySQL daemon.

   CREATE USER MAPPING for postgres SERVER Anaplan OPTIONS (
   username 'admin', 
   password 'test');
   

5. Create a foreign table in your local database:

   postgres=# CREATE FOREIGN TABLE sales (
   sales_id text,
   sales_Region text,
   sales_Product numeric) 
   SERVER Anaplan OPTIONS (
   table_name 'sales');
   

postgres=# SELECT * FROM sales;