Connect to Coda Data in JRuby

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

Configure a JDBC Connection to Coda 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 Coda\lib).

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

Coda API Profile Settings

Obtain your API token from your Coda account settings under the API Settings section.

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Coda.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_token';

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

url = "jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\Coda.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_token';"
conn = java.sql.DriverManager.getConnection(url)
stmt = conn.createStatement
rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT CanShare, CanShareWithWorkspace FROM AclMetadata")
while (rs.next) do
  puts rs.getString(1) + ' ' + rs.getString(2)
end

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

jruby -S APISelect.rb

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