Connect to Foursquare Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for Foursquare into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for Foursquare to transfer Foursquare data to a process in RapidMiner.

Connect to Foursquare in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to Foursquare:

1. Add a new database driver for Foursquare: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL:

   jdbc:api:
   

4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.api.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class:

   cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver
   

   
6. Create a new Foursquare connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the Foursquare driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   Using API Key Authentication

   Foursquare Places API uses Service Key (Bearer token) authentication. To obtain a Service Key:

   1. Go to the Foursquare Developer Console at https://foursquare.com/developers/
   2. Create a new project or select an existing one
   3. Navigate to the API Keys section
   4. Generate a new Service Key for the Places API

   After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
   • ServiceKey: Set this to your Foursquare Service Key obtained from the Developer Console.
   • XPlacesApiVersion: (Optional) Set this to the API version date. Defaults to 2025-06-17.

   Example APIKey connection string

   Profile=C:\profiles\Foursquare.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_personal_access_token';
   

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   

   A typical connection string is below:

   Profile=C:\profiles\Foursquare.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_personal_access_token';
   

10. Enter your username and password if necessary.

You can now use your Foursquare connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve Foursquare data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the Foursquare data.