Connect to Foursquare Data in RazorSQL

The CData JDBC Driver for Foursquare enables standards-based access from third-party tools, from wizards in IDEs to data management and analysis tools. This article shows how to connect to Foursquare using wizards in RazorSQL.

Create a JDBC Data Source for Foursquare Data

1. Open the RazorSQL application and, in the Connections menu, select Add Connection Profile -> Other -> JDBC.
2. In the Connection Wizard that appears, set the following properties:
   • Driver Location: Set this property to the path to the lib subfolder in the installation directory.
   • Driver Class: Set the driver class to cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver.
   • Username: Enter the username. (This property can also be set in the JDBC URL.)
   • Password: Enter the password. (This property can also be set in the JDBC URL.)

   • JDBC URL: Enter connection parameters. The JDBC URL begins with jdbc:api: and is followed by a semicolon-separated list of connection properties.

     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 JDBC URL is the following:

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

Query Foursquare Data and Select Tables

After establishing a connection, the wizard will close and the connection will be available in the connections panel. You can then query the tables.