Connect to Billsby Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Billsby 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 Billsby\lib).

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

Billsby API Profile Settings

Retrieve your API Key from the Billsby control panel under Settings > Configuration > API keys and webhooks. Your domain is the subdomain from your Billsby account URL.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Billsby.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;Domain=your_subdomain';

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

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Billsby.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;Domain=your_subdomain';"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT AddonId, Name FROM AddonDetails")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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