How to connect and process EventBrite Data from Azure Databricks

Databricks is a cloud-based service that provides data processing capabilities through Apache Spark. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver, customers can use Databricks to perform data engineering and data science on live EventBrite data. This article walks through hosting the CData JDBC Driver in Azure, as well as connecting to and processing live EventBrite data in Databricks.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live EventBrite data. When you issue complex SQL queries to EventBrite, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to EventBrite and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze EventBrite data using native data types.

Install the CData JDBC Driver in Azure

To work with live EventBrite data in Databricks, install the driver on your Azure cluster.

1. Navigate to your Databricks administration screen and select the target cluster.
2. On the Libraries tab, click "Install New."
3. Select "DBFS" as the Library Source and "JAR" as the Library Type.
4. Upload the JDBC JAR file (cdata.jdbc.api.jar) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData API Driver for JDBC\lib).

Connect to EventBrite from Databricks

With the JAR file installed, we are ready to work with live EventBrite data in Databricks. Start by creating a new notebook in your workspace. Name the workbook, make sure Python is selected as the language (which should be by default), click on Connect and under General Compute select the cluster where you installed the JDBC driver (should be selected by default).

Configure the Connection to EventBrite

Connect to EventBrite by referencing the class for the JDBC Driver and constructing a connection string to use in the JDBC URL. Additionally, you will need to set the RTK property in the JDBC URL (unless you are using a Beta driver). You can view the licensing file included in the installation for information on how to set this property.

driver = "cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver"
url = "jdbc:api:RTK=5246...;Profile=C:\profiles\Eventbrite.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=my_api_token';"

Built-in Connection String Designer

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

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

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the EventBrite Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\EventBrite.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for EventBrite (see below).

EventBrite API Profile Settings

To use authenticate to EventBrite, you can find your Personal Token in the API Keys page of your EventBrite Account. Set the APIKey to your personal token in the ProfileSettings connection property.

Load EventBrite Data

Once the connection is configured, you can load EventBrite data as a dataframe using the CData JDBC Driver and the connection information.

remote_table = spark.read.format ( "jdbc" ) \
	.option ( "driver" , driver) \
	.option ( "url" , url) \
	.option ( "dbtable" , "Events") \
	.load ()

Display EventBrite Data

Check the loaded EventBrite data by calling the display function.

display (remote_table.select ("Id"))

Analyze EventBrite Data in Azure Databricks

If you want to process data with Databricks SparkSQL, register the loaded data as a Temp View.

remote_table.createOrReplaceTempView ( "SAMPLE_VIEW" )

The SparkSQL below retrieves the EventBrite data for analysis.

result = spark.sql("SELECT Id, Name FROM SAMPLE_VIEW WHERE Status = 'live'")

The data from EventBrite is only available in the target notebook. If you want to use it with other users, save it as a table.

remote_table.write.format ( "parquet" ) .saveAsTable ( "SAMPLE_TABLE" )

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live EventBrite data in Azure Databricks. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.