Integrate FormSite Data in Pentaho Data Integration

The CData API Driver for JDBC enables access to live data from data pipelines. Pentaho Data Integration is an Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL) engine that data, cleanses the data, and stores data using a uniform format that is accessible.This article shows how to connect to FormSite data as a JDBC data source and build jobs and transformations based on FormSite data in Pentaho Data Integration.

Configure to FormSite Connectivity

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

FormSite API Profile Settings

Log into your Formsite account and visit the Admin Portal to generate or retrieve your API key. Your

ServerNumber

is the numeric part of your server URL and

UserDirectory

is your account's directory path.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the FormSite 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.

When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Below is a typical JDBC URL:

jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\FormSite.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;ServerNumber=your_server_number;UserDirectory=your_user_directory';

Save your connection string for use in Pentaho Data Integration.

Connect to FormSite from Pentaho DI

Open Pentaho Data Integration and select "Database Connection" to configure a connection to the CData API Driver for JDBC

1. Click "General"
2. Set Connection name (e.g. FormSite Connection)
3. Set Connection type to "Generic database"
4. Set Access to "Native (JDBC)"
5. Set Custom connection URL to your FormSite connection string (e.g.
   

   jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\FormSite.apip;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key;ServerNumber=your_server_number;UserDirectory=your_user_directory';

6. Set Custom driver class name to "cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver"
7. Test the connection and click "OK" to save.

Create a Data Pipeline for FormSite

Once the connection to FormSite is configured using the CData JDBC Driver, you are ready to create a new transformation or job.

1. Click "File" >> "New" >> "Transformation/job"
2. Drag a "Table input" object into the workflow panel and select your FormSite connection.
3. Click "Get SQL select statement" and use the Database Explorer to view the available tables and views.
4. Select a table and optionally preview the data for verification.

At this point, you can continue your transformation or jb by selecting a suitable destination and adding any transformations to modify, filter, or otherwise alter the data during replication.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and start working with your live FormSite data in Pentaho Data Integration today.