Connect to Beeminder Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Beeminder 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 Beeminder\lib).

JRuby natively supports JDBC, so you can easily connect to Beeminder 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 Beeminder Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Beeminder.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Beeminder (see below).

Beeminder API Profile Settings

Log in to your Beeminder account and navigate to Settings > Account > Personal Auth Token to copy your auth_token value.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Beeminder 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 Beeminder:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Beeminder.apip;ProfileSettings='AuthToken=your_auth_token';

Create a JRuby App with Connectivity to Beeminder 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 Beeminder 2018/lib/cdata.jdbc.api.jar'

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Beeminder.apip;ProfileSettings='AuthToken=your_auth_token';"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT Slug, Title FROM ArchivedGoals")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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