Connect to Avalara AvaTax from a Connection Pool in WebLogic

The CData JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax enables you to follow standard procedures to integrate Avalara AvaTax data into Java Web applications. This article shows how to deploy the CData JDBC Driver for Avalara AvaTax in WebLogic Server.

Deploy the JDBC Driver in WebLogic Server

To deploy the driver, add the driver JAR to your classpath. The .lic file must be located in the same folder as the JAR. These files are located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

If you want to add the driver to all domains, prepend the path to the JAR to the WEBLOGIC_CLASSPATH environment variable in WL_HOME\common\bin\commEnv.cmd/sh. This script is located in WL_HOME\common\bin\. For example:

In WebLogic 12.2.1 if you want to add the driver to a specific domain, you can simply place the driver JAR and .lic file into DOMAIN_HOME\lib; for example, ORACLE_HOME\user_projects\domains\MY_DOMAIN\lib. These files will be added to the server classpath at startup.

Earlier versions require that you manually add the driver to the classpath: Prepend the following to the PRE_CLASSPATH environment variable in setDomainEnv.cmd/sh. This script is located in the bin subfolder of the folder for that domain.

After making these changes, restart the server.

Create a JDBC Data Source for Avalara AvaTax

After deploying the driver, log into the WebLogic Administration Console and create the connection.

1. In the Domain Structure tree, click Services -> Data Sources -> New -> Generic Data Source.
2. On the JDBC Data Source Properties page, enter the following information:
   • Name: Enter a user-friendly name; for example, avalaraavataxjdbc.
   • JNDI Name: Enter the path the JDBC data source will be bound to; for example, jdbc/AvalaraAvatax.

   • Database Type: Select Other.

3. Click Next to use the default options. On the last page, enter the following information and click Test Configuration:

   • Driver Class Name: Enter the driver class, cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.AvalaraAvataxDriver.

   • URL: Enter the JDBC URL. A typical JDBC URL is below:

     jdbc:avalaraavatax:User=MyUser;Password=MyPassword;

     The primary method for performing basic authentication is to provide your login credentials, as follows:

     • User: Set this to your username.
     • Password: Set this to your password.

     Optionally, if you are making use of a sandbox environment, set the following:

     • UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are authenticating with a sandbox account.

     Authenticating Using Account Number and License Key

     Alternatively, you can authenticate using your account number and license key. Connect to data using the following:

     • AccountId: Set this to your Account Id. The Account Id is listed in the upper right hand corner of the admin console.
     • LicenseKey: Set this to your Avalara Avatax license key. You can generate a license key by logging into Avalara Avatax as an account administrator and navigating to Settings -> Reset License Key.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.avalaraavatax.jar

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

   • Database User Name: Enter the username, if not specified in the JDBC URL.
   • Password: Enter the password, if not specified in the JDBC URL.

After selecting the server where you want to deploy the JDBC data source, you can now connect to Avalara AvaTax data.

More WebLogic Integration

The steps above show how configure the driver in a simple connection pooling scenario. For more use cases and information, see the JDBC sections in the WebLogic Data Sources chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware documentation.